


Take The World By Storm

by reminiscingintherain



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Homophobia, M/M, Misogyny, OT5 Friendship, Past Character Death, Past Lives, Racism, Sexism, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, cos there's always gotta be bad shit, now for the bad shit, the way it should have happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-05-16 13:58:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 55,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19319593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reminiscingintherain/pseuds/reminiscingintherain
Summary: Maybe the X Factor wasn't the first time Louis and Harry had met. Maybe it was always meant to be, unavoidable in the universe. And maybe it happened a little bit differently than we think it did.





	Take The World By Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Wow. Where to start?
> 
> They say it takes a village, and in this instance, my village was made up of two amazing betas - [Lynda](http://wait4ever.tumblr.com/) and [Katie](http://larrymaybe22.tumblr.com/). I am forever grateful to all the work you've put into helping me with this, and the ass-kicking that was liberally given when I needed it!!
> 
> A huge thank you to [the mods](http://hlsummerexchange2019.tumblr.com/) for being awesome about allowing me an extension when this beast got away from me.
> 
> Shout out to my GCs, for the support and the love while I yelled about how impossible this whole thing was, as well as offering suggestions when I asked random questions.
> 
> I was so excited to write this fic literally as soon as I got the prompt - and then when I got started, it was immediately evident that it was going to be a lot bigger than anything else I've ever written. So this is my baby, and I'm so unbelievably proud of it, and I'm very excited as well as incredibly nervous to be putting it out here for you all to read.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it, and if you do, please leave a comment or a kudos, and reblog the fic post on tumblr!
> 
>  
> 
> _Title comes from the amazing song '[Sparrow](https://open.spotify.com/track/5TKZ9idH7g9jGzBCFqpEeB?si=IlkvvAXHTQ2Pq4w3jwHc1A)' by the incomparable Emeli Sandé._

_ 10th July 2010, Doncaster _

"Hey there Delilah, what's it like in New York City, I'm a thousand miles away, but boy tonight you look so pretty --"

"Louis."

"I know, Mum, wrong word."

Louis Tomlinson huffed out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair nervously, glancing down at the sheet of lyrics that he knew back to front, before he let out a soft yelp and darted to the mirror, fussing with his fringe and tidying it up again.

"Hannah will be here soon, poppet," Jay, his mum, said softly, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "And then we'll have to get on the road, or we won't make it in time."

"Thanks, Mum," Louis replied quietly, very aware of his younger sisters still asleep upstairs as he leaned back into her comforting warmth. "I'm sorry... that I can't be me yet."

"Oh poppet," Jay exclaimed gently. "You know full well that I will support you in whatever you do and whatever decisions you make. If you think that hiding your sexuality for the foreseeable future is the best path to take, then that is what we'll do."

"We don't even know if I'll get through the first round, Mum," Louis rolled his eyes slightly.

"Nonsense," Jay huffed as she fussed with his thin scarf. "You're going all the way, my darling. I know it in these old bones of mine."

"Hey, less of the old," Louis protested. "You're still incredibly youthful Mum, and I don't want to hear another word contradicting that fact."

"Love you, Boo. Even if you are a cheeky little shit."

"Love you too, Mum."

With that, a light knock came from the front door.

"That'll be Hannah," Jay sighed softly. "Make sure you've got all your things, love. There's a thermos in the kitchen for your tea. We'll be on our way once I've had a wee." She paused for a moment. "Oh, and you'd better let the poor girl you've roped into being your girlfriend in."

"Hey, she offered," Louis grumbled as he crossed the living room and slipped out into the hall, opening the front door. "Morning, Hannah."

"Morning, Lou," Hannah murmured, not looking at all awake. "I'm glad I got the right door. I thought I was gonna embarrass myself at one point and knock on the wrong one." She covered her mouth as she yawned widely. "Sorry. Too early for me really."

"Too early for everyone sensible, let's be honest," Louis chuckled softly. "C'mon in. Mum's just in the loo, I'm gonna make a flask of tea to take, and then we'll be on our way."

"Awesome, just give me a prod when we're ready," Hannah sighed and dropped onto the bottom stair, resting her head against the newel post. "I'm gonna try and get a power nap in."

"No time for that, love," Jay told her, shutting the toilet door quietly. "You can get on in the car if you want though. You can have a bit of a sleep on the way."

Less than five minutes later, all three were in the car and on the A1M heading for Manchester. Jay had put an embargo on the Plain White T's album, knowing that Louis would stress himself out even more than he already was. Instead, she got him singing along to Wham! and George Michael, distracting him for most of the two hour journey.

Until they reached the outskirts of Greater Manchester, at which point, her normally bubbly and effervescent son clammed up tighter than a shell and just looked spooked as she followed the road signs to Manchester Central.

"You're gonna be okay," Jay said softly, reaching out to gently rest a hand on his knee. "I have faith and trust in you, my love."

"I know, Mum," Louis managed to give her a small strained smile. "Means a lot. And I'm so grateful that you're here."

"I just hope we meet Dermot O'Leary," Hannah piped up from the back, apparently awake. "He's awesome. And he looks like he gives amazing hugs." She gasped and slapped gently at Louis' arm. "What if you get a Dermot hug?"

"Then... I'll hug him back?" Louis suggested, looking slightly baffled. "I'm not sure what else you think I'd do?"

"Well, I thought I was here as your girlfriend, so you can pretend to be straight," Hannah said uncertainly.

"Yeah? And?"

"Well, hugging a bloke...?"

"Hannah!" Louis sighed in exasperation.

"What?!"

"Dermot hugs everyone, so if I refuse it, I'll be the one who looks an utter dick, not him," Louis explained slowly. "I wanna appear straight, not fuck--" He quickly changed tack at his mum's pointed glare. "Freaking homophobic. That's too far. I..." he shuddered slightly. "I don't think I could pretend to hate the community. That would hurt me too much."

"Well, you're not going to have to go that far," Jay said firmly. "It's only for today, anyway. Once you get through, you'll break up amicably, and continue on in the competition as a single pringle."

"Oh my god, Mum, please don't say shit like that ever again," Louis groaned.

"What? Lottie told me that's what all the kids are saying these days," Jay protested.

"Lottie isn't even twelve, and has no idea of the world," Louis rolled his eyes.

"Don't be mean about your little sister."

Jay manoeuvred the car into the Manchester Central car park, following the directions of the stewards and pulling the handbrake on.

"Well, here we are, Boo."

"Yeah," Louis breathed out slowly, gazing up at the large red and gold 'X's dotted all over the place. "It seems bigger than the last time I was here. Is it bigger?"

"I don't think so, poppet," Jay said softly. "C'mon though. We need to go get you registered and signed in. I reckon we've probably got a long wait ahead."

"Sounds about right," Hannah sighed. "I need to find a loo as well."

"Okay, okay," Louis huffed and pushed his door open. "C'mon then."

The three made their way over to the front of the conference centre, joining the surprisingly short queue and shuffling along slowly as the people in front were efficiently signed in and given their audition numbers. Eventually, Louis reached the front and handed over the letter he'd received from the production team after he'd been to the initial audition back in March.

"Thank you, Lewis," the woman sat down said as she read the top of the letter.

"Um, it's Louis - like the French," Louis corrected quietly.

"Apologies, love," the woman smiled. "Here's your number, and your pass for a free drink when you get inside. Wristbands for your family, and drink passes for them too. Then, if you can just sign the disclaimer here," she pointed at the page in front of her. "Just to say that you give permission for your image and name to be used for promotional purposes for the X Factor."

"O-okay," Louis stammered, a little wide-eyed and overwhelmed, but taking the pen offered and scribbling his signature where indicated. "Is there... anything else I should know?"

"Um," the woman scanned down her checklist. "Oh! What song will you be singing, love?"

"Hey There Delilah, by the Plain White T's," he said, trying to sound a little more confident.

"And your back up song?"

"Uh, um, I dunno," he flailed slightly, looking at his mum desperately.

"Careless Whisper, George Michael," Jay said quickly, then shrugged helplessly when Louis stared at her wide-eyed.

"Okay, no problem," the woman replied, scribbling it down. "Good luck, Louis!" She leaned slightly to one side. "Next?"

Jay hustled Louis carefully to one side, making sure that Hannah was with them as they headed towards the next queue.

"George Michael, Mum?" Louis demanded. "That's not exactly within my vocal range!"

"Nonsense," Jay huffed. "You can manage it perfectly well. Besides, you didn't have anything else to offer."

"I should've gone with Look After You," Louis groaned. "It's my go-to. It's perfect."

"Well, you didn't, so tough shit, my son."

Louis grumbled under his breath all the way into the queue, and kept it up until he saw one of the production assistants trying to get everyone's attention.

"What's going on?" Hannah asked, craning her neck to try and see. "Oh my god, is that Dermot O'Leary?"

"Looks like it," Louis mumbled, shaking his hands out nervously. He took a deep breath, trying to control his nerves - seeing Dermot had suddenly made everything seem properly real, instead of just the hazy dream that he felt that he'd been wandering around in since they arrived in Manchester. "I really hope he doesn't come and talk to us though."

"Why not?" Hannah demanded. "It'd be good to get out there! Push yourself forward a bit, Tommo. If you get yourself known, then you're more likely to go through."

"Firstly, we talked about you calling me Tommo, Han," he sighed. "It's not exactly very affectionate, is it?"

"Spoilsport," she muttered.

"And secondly," he continued as though she hadn't spoken. "There are only three types of people who get noticed this early - those who've been here before and are trying again, those who are awesome and bound to get through to the lives, and the novelty acts that everyone laughs at. Considering I don't come under either of those first two, I really don't want to fall into the last one either. So, let's just keep quiet, keep our heads down, and get through this."

"You are such a drama queen," Hannah huffed. "You're lucky I agreed to this."

"I know I am," he agreed. "You'll be reimbursed, I promise."

She nudged him gently, then rested her head against his shoulder, carefully playing the part of the loving girlfriend.

They waited a little longer, as the sun got higher in the sky, and the temperature increased. Louis began to regret his decision of the trendy cardigan and scarf with his jeans and Toms, which had seemed like the perfect thing to wear at five o'clock that morning. Jay bustled around, sweet talking the security men to let her out of the queue to go and fetch them bottles of water and sandwiches as lunchtime approached.

"How long do you reckon they'll keep us out here?" Hannah asked at around one, covering her mouth as she yawned.

"Not a clue," Louis sighed, taking a small step as the line shifted again. "I don't even think we're actually moving - I think it's just as people are moving around cos they're bored."

His attention was caught a moment later when he noticed a camera crew wandering past them to set up in a caged off area not too far from where they were standing. A stool was placed in front of the camera, which one of the producers hopped onto so the camera tech could frame up properly, giving a thumbs up when it was sorted.

A few minutes later, after they had a chat among themselves, the producer came back along the line, eventually pointing at a young lad that Louis had sort of half noticed before. He had a head full of chocolate brown curls, and was accompanied by a woman who was very obviously his mum, and an older girl who had to be his sister. Louis had commented earlier in the morning at the sound of the boy's voice, when they'd heard him singing a bit of Bryan Adams' Summer of '69 -  _ that lad's gonna go far, just listen to him _ .

The producer took the young lad out of the queue and over to the camera, getting him to sit on the stool and answer a few questions to camera, before she let him return to his family. After checking the footage, the producer came further along the queue, eventually pointing at Louis.

"Hi there, what's your name, love?"

"I'm Louis Tomlinson," Louis said uncertainly, holding up his number.

"I'm Amy, can you come with me for a sec please?"

Louis looked at his mum and Hannah, obviously unsure, but followed Amy out of the queue and over to the camera.

"This won't be too painful, I promise," Amy assured him. "It's just for soundbites for the programme. So I'll just ask you a few questions - your name, your age, where you're from, that sort of thing?"

"O-okay," Louis stammered.

"Don't worry about anything, you can talk to me instead of the camera, I'll be right there," Amy gave him a sympathetic look and gently rubbed his arm. "I promise the camera will not bite."

Louis nodded and took a deep breath as he sat on the stool, shifting his weight to get comfortable, then focusing his attention on Amy again.

"Okay, firstly, if you could introduce yourself - name, age, where you're from?" Amy asked.

"Uh... okay," Louis nodded again, then closed his eyes for a moment, gathering himself, before he looked at Amy. "My name's Louis Tomlinson, I'm 18, and I'm from Doncaster."

"Who are you here with today, Louis?"

"I'm here with my mum, and my girlfriend Hannah."

"How far do you see yourself going in the competition, Louis?"

"Well, to be honest, I doubt I'll get through today," he admitted with a halfhearted shrug. "But if I do, I doubt I'll get through bootcamp."

"That's a bit defeatist, isn't it?" Amy asked with a small frown. "Surely you want to get through to the lives?"

"Yeah, course, but there's no point being unrealistic about it, right? I've already heard a bunch of voices here that are far better than mine, and I have no delusions about myself or my ability."

"Right," Amy looked incredibly thrown by Louis' responses. "In that case, uh, I guess we can leave it there?"

"Okay," Louis agreed easily and slipped off of the stool. "Thanks," he gave a small smile, reaching out to shake Amy's, then the camera tech's hands.

"They make them polite up this way, don't they?" Louis heard the tech comment to Amy as he made his way back to Jay and Hannah. "That's the second to shake both our hands."

Louis raised an eyebrow, glancing over at the curly-haired lad who'd gone before him. The lad looked around at the same time, and their eyes met and held for a few beats, before the lad's sister made a comment that required an indignant response that only younger siblings could give. Louis shook his head slowly, continuing on back to his mum. He tripped slightly on the edge of a paving slab, and Jay reached out to steady him.

"You okay, poppet?" she asked, frowning worriedly as she watched the colour drain out of Louis' face, before he suddenly dropped into a dead faint and collapsed to the floor, causing a ripple of concern to echo around the people near them. Jay immediately knelt beside the prone form of her son. "Louis! Louis, can you hear me?" She looked up at Hannah. "Go get me some water please, sweetheart," she told the younger girl, who was looking freaked out, but promptly darted off at the request.

"What's going on? Is everything okay? Oh my, Louis!" Amy pushed her way through the throng of people. "Is there anything we can do?"

"It's fine, love," Jay assured her. "I'm a nurse, and my son is a little dehydrated, that's all. With all the excitement, and the early start, it's just been a long day already."

"I'll make sure there's more water being provided," Amy said quickly. "There's supposed to be someone coming around regularly with a water barrel for people to get cups from."

"We haven't seen any at all," Jay said absently, more focused on looking after Louis, settling him on his side and slipping her jacket under his head for a pillow. "I've kept going to get water myself."

"I apologise for that, Mrs Tomlinson," Amy replied. "I'll make sure that's corrected immediately. Do you think we'll need a medical team here?"

"No, I think he's starting to come around."

"Mut?" Louis slurred slightly, his head rolling a little. "Móðir... Modor... Màthair... Mother... Mum?"

"I'm here, Lou," Jay said softly, resting a hand on his cheek. "Are you okay, poppet?"

"I..." Louis opened his eyes slowly. "I, um. I think so."

"Hannah's just getting you some water, you passed out cos of the heat," Jay told him carefully. "I think you may have tapped your head on the ground, but there's no blood. I think you're going to be okay."

"Uh, yeah."

Louis frowned and blinked around, looking almost confused about where he was and what was going on. Jay eyed him, more than a little concerned, but determinedly hiding it and keeping her face neutral.

"You remember where we are, love?" she eventually asked.

"Um, yeah, yeah, of course," he said quietly. "Uh, Manchester. For, um. The X Factor."

"That's it," Jay nodded.

"Sorry, I think it's the heat," Louis mumbled. "I've got a bit of a headache as well."

"That's probably cos of the small bump," Jay told him, gently rubbing over the spot that hit. "You'll be okay."

"Are you going to be okay to sing, Louis?" Amy asked. "Or would you like me to get you formally withdrawn."

"He'll be fine," Jay said quickly.

"Yeah, yeah, I can sing," Louis stammered out slightly. "Sorry. But yeah. I'm okay."

Hannah soon returned with a large bottle of water, which Louis half drained in one go. Shortly after that, the queue started to move properly, with everyone shuffling quietly along in the gated zone like cattle to the slaughterhouse. Louis couldn't help but frown at the reference his brain had decided to provide, but he needed to get inside, needed a bit of peace, so that he could try and process what the fuck had just happened to him. Flashes of thoughts and memories and scenes rattled around his slightly bruised brain, some barely tangible, others loud and harsh and brash and undeniable in their content. He glanced down the queue, catching the worried frown of the curly-haired lad again -  _ no _ , his brain whispered traitorously,  _ that's Husani, that's Haraldur, that's Henlea, Haddow, Harold... you know it is. _ Louis rubbed at his forehead and then his eyes, trying to desperately maintain control of himself and his thoughts, while all the while continue to make his way closer to the entrance of the building, without getting too obviously close to the younger lad.

As soon as they stepped through the large doors of the conference centre, Louis excused himself from Jay and Hannah, and immediately shot off to look for the nearest toilets. He stormed inside and slammed the cubicle door shut, flicking the lock forcibly and leaning back against the wall, taking deep breaths.

He'd never truly believed in soulmates before. It was something nice to think about, in a whimsical, Disney-like state, but not with anything factually behind it. But now, he had a pretty strong feeling that what had happened to him was a total and complete confirmation of everything that soulmates are, were, and ever will be. And he was fairly confident in saying that the lad in the queue - the younger, curly-haired, amazing voiced, deep green eyes (although he thought that was more memory from  _ before _ rather than him actually noticing today) - he was Louis' soulmate, and had been all throughout time.

Part of Louis felt a little uncomfortable - he wasn't too sure about the thought of being so dependent on one other person. What if they left? What if they ruined everything? With everything he’d experienced in his life thus far, the possibility of either of those things happening wasn’t much of a stretch to imagine - but another part, more logical and in control, was rejoicing in the revelation. He had found him again - found the one who matched him in every single way, made him whole and complete. Louis took a shaky breath, leaning against the wall as he tried to gather himself again to go back out to his mum and his pretend girlfriend, knowing what he knew now, and make like everything was the same.

Plus, he realised, he also had to try and work out how to meet the lad again. Else he knew he'd spend the rest of his life pining for him - it had only happened once, back in Scotland in the 1700s - their eyes had met from opposite sides of the Battle of Culloden, and once Louis (or Lochlan, as he'd been at the time) had come around, the battle was over, and he never found the other man again, or even found out what happened to him, despite managing to work out his name.

Giving himself a shake, he flicked open the lock and stepped outside the cubicle, immediately coming to a stop, staring in disbelief at the figure in front of him. His curly-haired soulmate was standing at the urinals, doing his business. On hearing Louis, he turned around, mid-flow, and managed to pee on Louis' Toms before he could jump back.

"Oops," the lad mumbled, quickly turning back and flushing a deep pink all the way up to his ears.

"Hi..." Louis breathed out slowly.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking, I'm so sorry, please don't be mad," the lad babbled, finishing up and zipping his fly up before he flicked the flush on the urinal and turned back to Louis again.

"Hey, it's okay mate," Louis said gently. "It's fine. I'll just give them a rinse off." He shrugged. "Need a new pair really, anyway."

"I saw you in the queue," the other boy suddenly blurted out. "You collapsed in the heat. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," Louis assured him. "Just need to drink a bit more. All the nerves and that, I didn't get enough." He looked at him for a moment. "I'm Louis, Louis Tomlinson."

"’M Harry Styles," Harry said with a bright grin.

"Oh, well, you're definitely gonna go far with a name like that. You were born to be a star, lad."

"One of my friends said either a singer or a porn star," Harry shrugged. "M'still a virgin, so I guess I'll give the singing a go." He promptly blushed again as he realised what he'd said. "Please forget I said that."

"Now, now, there's nothing wrong with what you said," Louis chuckled. "I'm here giving the singing a go too, so no judgement." He nudged Harry gently with his hip. "But I heard you singing to your Mum in the queue - you're a shoo-in for the lives, I reckon."

"Nah. I only just made the cut - my birthday's the youngest you could be to apply for this year. I don't reckon I'll get through, but the experience is nice to have, y'know?"

"Don't sell yourself short, Harold. You got a decent set of pipes on you."

"Firstly, m'name's not Harold. Secondly, thank you."

"You're welcome," Louis grinned. "In fact, I'm so confident in you," he started to rummage around his pockets, fumbling for a piece of paper and a pen, "that I want the very first Harry Styles autograph. So I can say that I met you before you were famous."

Harry stammered and spluttered a bit, staring up at Louis in bright-eyed awe.

"I-I mean, o-okay, but, but, I'm sure you're gonna be a-amazing too," he managed.

"You've not heard me sing yet, love," Louis chuckled. "C'mon then, let's get your scribble on there. And then I think we should get a photo as well. I'm not even gonna bother hedging my bets on you."

"How can you be so confident in me?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Just call it a hunch," Louis winked, then held his phone out at arm's length as Harry squished up against his side. "Let's hope this works..." he checked the screen and grinned. "We're good to go. Thanks a lot, Harold."

"It's Harry," Harry corrected again. "And it was nice to meet you Louis. I'm sorry about your shoes, again."

"Forget about it," Louis waved him off. "Just be aware that when you get all rich and famous, I'll be back in Donny going 'well, the first time I met Harry Styles, he peed on my shoes, yeah, yeah, they're in the display case at the museum. Curators reckon they're worth about ten million pounds cos they've got baby Styles' pee on them.. I know, it's amazing..'" Louis smirked as Harry doubled over in fits of giggles. "Don't forget to breathe, love. You're going all shades there."

Eventually, Louis managed to guide Harry back out to his mum and sister, giving him a cheerful wave and turning to go find Jay and Hannah again. He let out a heavy sigh and felt the weight of a hundred lifetimes fall back onto his shoulders. He closed his eyes for a moment, his brain filtering through the additional memories that were now swirling around inside his head, and flickered a small smile as one came into focus.

~~~~~~

_ 1205AD ~ The Middle Ages _

Henlea burst into a fit of laughter as he chased away down the narrow path, Liulf following after him. Their mothers had sent them off to the river to collect water, as they'd been creating mischief all day by getting under foot and winding up Liulf's younger siblings. At the ages of ten and twelve, they really ought to have known better, but when the two got together everyone always knew to expect chaos.

What no one else was aware of though, was that Liulf and Henlea had a secret. A secret they kept so private that they would only ever speak of it when they were absolutely certain that no one could even hear them whispering, let alone the words they said.

They both knew that they had lived before, in an earlier age, in a different time, with different names, but the same souls, the same faces. They knew that they would continue to meet up through time, always finding each other no matter where they were. They were the fated soulmates, those that were spoken about in awed whispers, in fascinated murmurs, in disbelieving grunts. Some still believed in their existence, that people would and could find their perfect other half in the world, to love and support each other through all of the trials and tribulations that life brings.

Liulf couldn't tell you how long he'd known the truth. It had been a part of him for as long as he could remember - but he knows that his mother likes to tease him now and then about how he was so overwhelmed the first time he laid eyes on baby Henlea that his eyes rolled up and he dropped to the floor for ten minutes. He often thought that might be when he got all the knowledge about Egypt and the Vikings. He never dared to speak about either out loud - he knew he'd be immediately dragged up before the church, and probably burned alive for his words.

The same goes for the way he felt about Henlea. He knew, and he'd made sure to be clear with Henlea about it, that they would both have to take a wife, and lay with her for her to bear their children. It made Liulf feel a bit squeamish at the thought, but his father had long ago arranged with Henlea's father that Henlea would be wed to Liulf's younger sister Felice, while Liulf himself would marry Gunnora, Henlea's older sister.

Liulf was only twelve, but even at his young age, he wanted to fight back against the injustice of it all; that they were given no autonomy or choice in one of the most important decisions of their lives. He knew that he would only ever feel for Henlea the sort of love that a man was supposed to feel for his wife. But again, vocalising this to anyone except Henlea himself would only get both of them burned in a fire, with their eternal spirits damned to hell.

Instead, they both took advantage of their youth, and spent as much time as they could together.

Until the winter Liulf turned sixteen and Gunnora turned seventeen. They were married at the small local church, their families and the whole of their tiny village in attendance. As Liulf made the declaration that bound the fate of his mortal shell to that of Gunnora, he glanced over her shoulder to see Henlea staring straight ahead at the back wall of the church, steadfastly ignoring the tears that continuously rolled down his cheeks, unchecked.

At only fourteen, and with Felice only ten, Henlea wouldn't be expected to marry for at least another five to six years.

It would never come to pass. Less than a year later, after Gunnora bore a son of Liulf, one they named William Edward after his father and his uncle, Henlea was found out in the woods under a tree. The official story was that he'd lost track of the trail and got himself turned around, and then frozen to death in the bitter winter temperatures. But Liulf knew otherwise - he knew that Henlea hadn't been able to handle seeing Liulf with his own sister, and now their child. He alone knew of the bottle of ether that Henlea had consumed before he'd settled himself down under the tree, in the very spot where they had shared their first kiss so long before, and welcomed death with open arms.

_ 10th July 2010, Manchester _

"Louis Tomlinson!"

"Lou, c'mon poppet," Jay's voice cut through his memories, and her hand gently shook him back into the present day. "They're calling your name. You need to go audition, love."

"Now?" he asked, a little confused. "Oh shit. Okay. Uhh..."

"C'mon, this way," Jay guided him over to where Amy was waiting for them. "You alright, love? You spaced out a lot there."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry, my thoughts just ran away with me, I guess."

"Hiya, Louis," Amy greeted him, before Jay could formulate a response. "How are you feeling now?"

"Much better, thanks," Louis nodded. "Kinda just wanna forget it happened?"

"Not a problem," Amy nodded. "Just follow me, I'll take you through to the stage area. Mum and girlfriend?" she asked, looking to Jay and Hannah and getting nods in return. "That's fine, you can watch with Dermot - he'll look after you."

"Calm down, you," Louis immediately said to Hannah, before glancing at Amy. "She's been on about meeting Dermot all morning. I think she's angling to replace me with an older man."

"Oh, as if," Hannah huffed. "You're more than enough of a handful for me."

Louis blinked at her in surprise, then rolled his eyes and followed Amy down the corridor towards the stage area, where they were introduced to Dermot and told a little more of what was going to happen next. Jay and Hannah were left with Dermot beside the screens, while Louis was handed a microphone and pointed at a flight of stairs.

"Good luck, buddy, you're gonna be fine," Dermot assured him, gently patting him on the back.

"Good luck, poppet," Jay said quickly.

"See you after," Hannah grinned.

Louis took a deep breath and started to climb the stairs, part of him starting to freak out a little - with the memories of five other lifetimes now floating around in his head, was there even room for the lyrics of a song that he'd always deliberately changed the words to anyway?

He got out onstage, blinking a little in the bright lights - they were definitely a lot stronger than the ones his school had managed to put on for their production of  _ Grease _ a couple years before - and took his place on the X as he'd been told. He took another deep breath as he gazed down at the four judges at the desk in front of him.

The rest of his audition seemed to pass in a blur - he knew his voice hadn't held up as well as it could do, and he was kicking himself for it, but putting it down to dehydration and apparent soulmate location. Somehow though, Louis got himself four yeses, and he was through to boot camp. He ran down the steps and into his mum's arms, hugging her tightly.

"So proud of you, poppet," she murmured in his ear. "I knew you'd be able to do it. You can go all the way, I know it."

"Mum, I'm only through to boot camp," he grumbled softly. "It's not like I've won the whole damn thing yet."

"But I know it, I know in my gut that it's going to happen for you, love," Jay told him, a deadly serious expression on her face as she gently cupped his cheeks in her hands. "This is going to work out."

"We'll see, won't we?" he said, noncommittally. "Let's just go get the info packs from Amy or whoever and then go get some food. Then I'll drive part of the way home, let you have a rest."

"No, nope, you passed out today," Jay replied firmly. "I'll be driving home, thank you. Unless you want me to call your dad to get him to bring the girls down and fetch us?"

"No, no, of course not," Louis huffed. "I was only trying to help."

"I know you were, darling," Jay gently ruffled his hair. "But not this time. Let's keep you safe so you can go on and win the X Factor yeah?"

"Hmm."

Before they could take another step, Louis instinctively turned his head, already knowing exactly who his eyes would pick out - Harry was making his way down the corridor towards them, his family following along behind.

"Louis!" he exclaimed, and broke into a run to catch up to him. "I saw your audition on the screens in the waiting room - you were amazing! I'm so happy you got through!"

"Thank you," Louis nodded, giving a shy smile. "I'm surprised, to be honest, but it's a good feeling. You off down to meet Dermot for your audition?"

"Yeah, I'm really nervous," Harry murmured, leaning in close while Jay and Anne introduced themselves to each other and started chatting like old friends. "I'm going in there without music or anything. And I'm still not sure about my voice. It broke a while ago, but it still squeaks and whistles at the worst possible moment."

"Well, we'll find out soon," Louis said reasonably. "But I reckon it'll hold out and be perfectly fine. I reckon you'll nail it."

"I wish I had your faith," Harry sighed. "Oh shit, better go before Mum grabs my ear. Or Gemma tries it."

"You're gonna ace it, babe," Louis reiterated. "Just have fun!"

He glanced over at Jay, who gave him a knowing look, but waited until they were back in the main lobby before she spoke.

"So... Harry then," she said softly.

"He seems a nice lad," Louis said neutrally. "I thought he had a wicked voice though. I'd love to have that much control over mine."

"Stop trying to talk about his voice, when you know full well that I wasn't referring to his voice when I brought him up."

"What do you want me to say, Mum?"

Jay shrugged and looked at the large screens where Harry was talking to the judges, apparently making them laugh.

"I dunno, but it seemed like you made a connection?" she tried.

"Mum, he's a kid, and I doubt we'll cross paths again," Louis sighed, then waved a hand at the TV as Harry started to sing. "Listen to him, he's amazing."

" _ Isn't she lovely, isn't she wonderful, isn't she precious, less than one minute old _ ," Harry sang, completely without accompaniment.

"He's got a hell of a set of pipes on him," Hannah commented. "And no music. Wow."

"Yes, thank you for that, Hannah," Louis huffed. "But see, Mum? He's gonna go so much further in this."

He bit his tongue to stop himself adding that they may be soulmates, but that didn't necessarily mean that they'd wind up together.

"Okay, fine," Jay relented. "But I still think you should make an effort to find him in London. Cos he just got three yeses, so he'll be there."

"Three?" Louis' head snapped around to the TV. "Why only three? Who the hell didn't think he was good enough?"

"Louis Walsh," Hannah muttered, rolling her eyes. "He thinks Harry's too young."

"He doesn't know his arse from his elbow most of the time," Jay sniffed. "Probably cos he's too busy needing a flashlight to find his way out of Simon's ass."

"Mother!" Louis exclaimed, his eyes wide in shock. "I cannot believe you just said that!"

"What?" Jay gave an innocent look. "Did I say something that wasn't true?"

Louis didn't answer, instead choosing to burst out into loud laughter as they walked out of the arena and back towards the car.

~~~~~~

_ 22nd July 2010, Wembley Arena, London, early morning _

"It is far too early to even think about functioning," Louis mumbled around a yawn.

"You're never going to make it with that attitude," Jay told him from the driver's seat. "I thought you were supposed to be young and fit and full of energy?"

"Scientifically proven that teenagers need more sleep cos of growing," he replied, slumped against the passenger door with his head against the glass.

"So... you think you're gonna grow some more?" she asked a little slyly, quickly forcing an innocent expression at the dark glare Louis shot her. "What? It was a simple question, poppet."

"You know what," Louis grumbled. "You make it seem like I'm a right freaking short-ass."

"Not a short-ass, love," Jay's voice softened into an affectionate tone. "You're perfectly proportioned. All the best things come in smaller packages, anyway. Like diamonds."

"You calling me a diamond now?" he raised an eyebrow.

"You're my little diamond, poppet." Jay reached across, squeezing his knee gently. "Diamonds are strong, they survive. They don't fade. They don't crumble to dust after a few hundred years. They see it all through. That's you, Boobear. My strong little diamond. And I'm already so so proud of you."

"Mum, you're gonna make me cry," Louis said softly. "And I'm not sure that rocking up to boot camp with swollen eyes and a red nose is the best look to make a good impression."

"Sorry, sorry," Jay chuckled. "I'm just a very proud mum, and I like to make sure you know that." She glanced over at him. "Especially as if this does work out, you'll be off to London come August, and then... when will you be home again?"

"Uh, probably a week later when they kick me off?" Louis snorted. "God, Mum, I love how much faith you have in me. It's amazing. Especially as I'm literally here just waiting for the other shoe to drop." He sighed. "I reckon we're probably gonna be going back home tonight."

"You already know what I think, poppet," Jay told him as she made her way through the early morning London traffic, negotiating the North Circular with ease. "So I'm not going to repeat it again. I just think you should go in there, keep your head down, and do what you can."

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Mum."

Louis sighed softly as he gazed out of the window. The previous couple of weeks had been a bit of a weird experience. Every night, his dreams had been filled with memories of his former lives, and it had to be said, none of them had ended particularly well. Despite the initial flood of thoughts having been reasonably positive, he learned quickly that in each case something awful had happened to one or both of them - the fate of Henlea was a fairly mild result in comparison to some of them. He shuddered slightly as he recalled what had befallen Leif and Haraldur in the Viking Era.

Before his thoughts could drift any further back into that story, the sound of the handbrake being pulled on dragged him back into the present and he looked around, realising that they were parked up in one of the car parks around Wembley.

"Not too sure where you've been for the past half hour or so, poppet," Jay commented quietly. "But I'm glad you're back here now." She nodded over at the Arena. "You ready to head inside?"

"Not really, but I'd best get on with it, hadn't I?"

"Maybe you'll find Harry?" Jay asked, teasing gently.

"Don't start that again," Louis rolled his eyes, then leaned over to press a kiss to Jay's cheek. "I'll text you when I know what's happening."

"I'll go find some brunch. Anne's already said she's here."

"Who the hell is Anne?" Louis raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Jay gave him a smug smirk. "I managed to find Harry's mum on Facebook. We've been chatting ever since Manchester, and we're gonna hang out while you're at boot camp."

"Oh my god, Mum!" Louis exclaimed, shoving the door open before he climbed out. He bent down to peer back in at her. "Don't you dare say anything embarrassing, Mum. I mean it. Not just for me, but for Harry too. Okay?"

"I am perfectly capable of behaving, thank you very much, Louis William," Jay glared a little. "I don't appreciate being chastised like a wayward infant by my own son. Now," she huffed a little. "You go do your singing, and I'm going for mimosas with Anne."

"Have fun," Louis relented. "I'll see you later." He paused for a moment. "Try not to get too drunk before midday?"

"I can't make any promises, poppet!"

Louis groaned and rubbed a hand over his face as he made his way over towards the main entrance of the arena, already mildly dreading what the two mothers would spend the day discussing, and half wondering if he could get away with getting the train home instead of waiting on a lift. He absently thought that if this did get any further, then he would think about talking to his mum about the whole soulmate thing - because he needed to talk to someone about it sooner rather than later, before his brain exploded with everything it was processing.

He took a deep breath and jogged down the steps, joining the dribs and drabs of people who were ambling over to the entrance, some already chattering among the small groups that had formed. Those who had already entered the arena suddenly reappeared and ushered people back outside.

A producer, who Louis recognised as Amy from Manchester, stood at the top of the steps in front of the door with a megaphone in her hand.

"Good morning everyone!" she called, her voice amplified by the megaphone. "Thank you all for arriving so promptly. My name is Amy, I think I met most of you at your auditions. I'm just going to explain to you how today is going to work out. When we get you all inside, you will be given another copy of your X Factor number - you must wear this at all times. This is not just to identify you, but also for security reasons - we need to be able to make sure that you are where you should be.

"Once your number is displayed clearly, you will all make your way into the main arena. There, we will set up for the first shot of the day - the judges entrance. Due to Cheryl Cole's continued illness, and Dannii Minogue's maternity leave, all of the judging will be done today solely by Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh. Please listen carefully to whatever Simon says - he does not like repeating himself, and will not appreciate any delays. If you have any questions at all, please find either myself or one of my colleagues. We all have 'production' written in white on our backs.

"Please remember the clauses of the contract you signed at auditions - any disagreements, either among yourselves or with any of the X Factor team, must be dealt with immediately. Speak to a member of production rather than taking anything into your own hands." Amy paused, glancing down at a notepad she had in her hand. "Finally, please remember to smile and look like you're enjoying yourselves - you will be on camera, you will be on television, we do not want the public to think that we're beating you when the cameras aren't rolling. You're here of your own volition because you want to be stars - let us see that!" She grinned at them all. "And most of all, have fun!"

The 200-odd people there cheered semi-enthusiastically, no one really awake enough to harness the enthusiasm that Amy would perhaps have expected or wanted. With a shrug and an eye roll, she stepped to one side and gestured for everyone to proceed up to the entrance.

Louis took another deep breath and tagged along with the crowd.

"Hey! Louis!" a voice called from behind his right shoulder. He looked around with a confused frown, trying to work out the source, and smiled softly when he eventually spotted a mass of brown curls atop a pair of deep green eyes, and a couple of huge dimples. "Hi!" Harry waved enthusiastically, weaving in and out of people with quick apologies for every toe that was stepped on or ankle that was kicked. "Hi!" he repeated, a little breathless, as he eventually made it to Louis' side.

"Hello," Louis greeted him warmly. "How's it going, Curly?"

"Not bad," Harry shrugged. "Just hanging out at Wembley freaking Arena for the day, y'know? No big deal."

"Sure, I mean, just your average Thursday, right?" Louis deadpanned.

"Exactly. Cos like, what else were you planning on doing today?"

"Oh, y'know, the usual. Take one of the cars for a drive. Fly my private jet out to my private island. Go for a swim in the Med." Louis smirked. "Stuff like that, right?"

"Well, I'm sorry you had to miss out," Harry replied seriously. "However, and I'm just putting this out there, if you ever want company doing any of those things in the future, I'd be happy to oblige."

"You'd force yourself, huh?"

"Exactly, exactly. Gotta make these sacrifices, after all."

Louis let out a snicker, then nudged against Harry's side gently.

"It's good to see you again, Harry," he said with a grin.

"You too, Louis," Harry beamed, then grimaced slightly. "Although, I apologise in advance for anything that my mum says to yours."

"Oh god, same, lad, same!" Louis groaned. "I am so so sorry about that. I have no idea how they found each other, on Facebook of all bloody things, and now they're off drinking mimosas apparently."

"Y'know, I've been seriously considering emancipation? Do you think it's hard?"

"I'm eighteen, I have no legal connection to that woman at all."

The two looked at each other and burst into loud laughter, attracting confused and weird looks from everyone around them, which only made them laugh harder.

"Oh god, I'm so glad there's someone here I know," Harry hiccuped on a giggle. "I was genuinely, genuinely terrified of being here. I get awful stage fright sometimes - it's like, debilitating? I mean, that's the word my sister used, but she's a twat sometimes and tells me things wrong just to make me look stupid."

"You're not stupid," Louis reassured him. "That's the right word, I promise." He rubbed gently at Harry's arm, only just managing to hold in his reaction to their physical connection. "I'll make sure you get the time that you need to be able to perform properly. Even if it means acting like a dick myself."

"Oh no, Lou, I couldn't ask you to do that!" Harry protested in earnest. "You'd practically be shooting yourself in the foot. No. I'll be okay, I've got my rescue remedies, I've got my iPod with my music on. It's gonna be fantastic, and we're both getting through. I just know it."

"Everyone's got far more confidence than me," Louis muttered, but then smiled. "Okay, Curly. We got this, then."

They each collected their audition numbers and stuck them firmly to their chests, before following the masses down the corridor and out into the main arena.

"It looks so weird when it's empty," Harry commented, his head back as he took in the height and breadth of the building. "It's really bizarre."

"Guess you'd better get used to it," Louis told him. "You'll be performing in places like this within the next eighteen months, you mark my words."

Harry pulled a face at him.

"I highly doubt it," he grumbled. "I don't think I'm that good. But I love to sing. I love to perform for people. So, I guess. Maybe not here? But I'd like to still be singing on a stage. Even if it's just the local social club." He bit his lip as he blushed slightly. "I'm not allowed to perform in the pub yet, cos I'm not old enough. But the landlord said that as soon as me and the rest of the band turn 18, our first gig's gotta be there. So I have that to look forward to, if X Factor doesn't work out."

"That's awesome though," Louis grinned. "My band kinda fell apart when half of us buggered off to uni. I had to stay back in Donny to retake some A Levels." He huffed a little. "Not sure why I bothered though. I reckon I've probably failed again."

"Let's hope this takes us somewhere else then, cos I'm not too interested in hanging about and waiting for my GCSE results either."

The pair continued to chatter as they stood around, waiting for Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh to make an appearance on the stage at the front of the open space. They eventually looked up as the chatter around them died down, and Amy stepped out into the centre of the stage with a microphone in her hand.

"They like making her voice louder, don't they?" Louis murmured to Harry, grinning when the younger let out a loud honking laugh, which he immediately tried to smother with his hands. "Control yourself, Hazza. It wasn't even that funny," Louis added with a wink.

"Good morning again, all," Amy was greeting everyone. "Can you please put your hands together and make some noise for... Louis Walsh!" She waved her arm out to one side as the man in question slipped out from behind the curtain, waving to the cheering audience of contestants. "And of course, the main man, the big boss, the one who signs my paycheck... Simon Cowell!"

The contestants went wild, jumping around and yelling excitedly, as Simon waved and threw peace signs like it was the 60s again. He took the microphone from Amy and nodded once at her, before he took his place on the X in the middle of the stage.

"Good morning all," he greeted them. "Welcome to the first day of boot camp. First of all, before we start anything else, we're going to separate you into your categories. So if I can get all of the groups over here on my far left, all of the over 25s - that's aged 25 and over - over here on my far right, then the boys - 24 and under - on the left in the middle, and the girls - 24 and under - on the right in the middle." He waited as the acts fussed about, organising themselves in the order he'd instructed. "Thank you. Now, the Overs, you'll be going with your vocal coach Kevin, through to Conference Room Two. If you'd like to follow Kevin, he'll show you the way." There was another pause as the Overs left the main arena, chattering excitedly to each other. "Groups, your vocal coach will be Mark, and you'll be in Conference Room Six - it's the largest one, so there should be plenty of room for you all." A ripple of laughter echoed through the emptying arena at the comment. "Girls, your vocal coach is Savan, he'll be taking you through to the Catering Room - I'm told the acoustics are brilliant in there. And boys, your coach is Helene, and she'll be taking you out to the lobby." He paused, and leaned down to listen to a blonde woman who was standing on the floor and waving at him. "Sorry, not the lobby, you'll be going to one of the other conference rooms. If you'd like to follow her, then you shouldn't get lost."

Harry had stuck close to Louis while Simon was talking, looking a little nervous as they started to follow the woman who had waved her arms enthusiastically over her head.

"He's a little scary," Harry mumbled.

"Who, Simon?" Louis checked.

"Yeah, kinda feel like I'm even more of a kid around him. Like, I shouldn't be here."

"You have every right to be here, love," Louis reassured him. "And yeah, Simon's a dick. I guess it's a side effect of having so many people kissing your ass for so long."

"Louis!" Harry protested in a whisper. "You can't say stuff like that! You'll get into trouble!"

Louis shrugged carelessly. "We'll see," he winked. "I'm not really scared though. I told you already, this is further than I thought I'd get."

"Even so," Harry chastised gently. "I'd like you to stick around. You make me feel safer." He immediately blushed hard, the red flush spreading right up to the tips of his ears. "I mean..." he huffed quietly. "I dunno. There's just something about you."

"Feel the same way, Hazza," Louis told him gently, then slung his arm around Harry's shoulders, pulling him into a sideways hug that turned into a noogie. "Now c'mon, let's go get vocally coached!"

The rest of the day was spent singing 'Man in the Mirror' over and over and over again. A load of them decided to split off and head outside into the sunshine, rather than stay in the overcrowded conference room.

Louis and Harry were among them, and they got to chatting to some of the other lads between recounts of the song. A bleached blond Irishman with a guitar was incredibly enthusiastic about everything and everyone - he'd managed to find the guitar tabs for the song on the slightly dodgy internet connection on his phone within ten minutes of being given the assignment, so had learned a basic version for everyone to use as accompaniment. With Niall came his self-assigned roommate in the hotel, someone who'd been on the show two years before and even reached Judges Houses before he'd been sent home; Liam Payne. Liam brought along Zayn Malik, who he'd met in McDonald's that morning, who was quiet and fairly introspective, but polite, and relaxed a little when he heard the familiar accent in Louis' voice.

The five of them worked together, helping each other with their weaker parts, and being generally supportive, while also having fun and a laugh. Until the heavens opened and the rain poured down, drenching everyone outside in seconds. The five looked at each other in confused shock for a moment, before yelping and gathering their things together, rushing inside to the sanctuary of the building. They found an empty stairwell and hid away from the rest of the contestants, breathing heavily and looking a little soggy.

"Typical bloody English summers," Louis eventually muttered, breaking the tentative silence that had fallen on them.

"Should've known that the sun was too good to be true," Zayn agreed.

"I knew I shouldn't have bothered with me shorts," Niall grumbled, taking a seat on one of the steps and starting to check over his guitar for any damage.

"My hair's gonna be awful," both Liam and Harry chorused, before looking at each other and giggling.

"You're clearly a bad influence on Harry, Lima, I immediately demand that you remove yourself from his side," Louis stated in an authoritative tone.

Liam immediately stopped laughing and looked at Louis, a worried and anxious look on his face.

"Louis, leave him alone," Harry huffed. "He's fine."

"Course you are, mate," Louis nodded. "I was just teasing." He glanced at the lyric sheet in his hand. "Are we gonna give this a go again then?"

"Might as well," Zayn shrugged a shoulder. "Helene said we weren't to come back until three - it's not even half past one yet."

"We should've got food before we came back," Niall groaned. "The canteen's been taken over by the girls."

"I'll go back out and get us something once we've done a run through," Louis suggested. "I'll pop to the shop over the road."

"Nando's?" Niall asked hopefully.

"Oh for -- fine, yes, I'll go to Nando's," Louis huffed. "Just start bloody playing already."

They started singing again, finding themselves harmonising naturally with each other, and grinning at the result.

"Maybe we should've been a group," Harry joked.

"We'd have to come up with a name though, Curls," Louis pointed out. "And that was a bitch to do when I was fifteen. I'd hate to have to try it again."

After that comment, Louis went to fetch the food he'd promised Niall, making sure to grab enough for everyone and coming back quickly, only missing about thirty minutes in total.

"You are an absolute angel, I will never say a word against you ever again," Niall swore, taking a bag from him.

"Oi, there's enough for everyone, Horan," Louis pointed at him. "So I wanna see you sharing, okay?"

"You are definitely a big brother," Liam said warily. "You sound like my sisters when we get Chinese. Nic always tries to hog the prawn crackers, but Roo won't let her. It's always a little entertaining to watch."

"Eldest of five," Louis nodded with a smile. "Got four little sisters. They're at home in Donny with my Dad. Mum's in the hotel across the road, apparently getting sloshed with Curly's mum on mimosas." He checked his phone and then held it up. "I stand corrected, they've moved on to dirty martinis and cosmopolitans. They obviously think they're in New York, and they're in an episode of Sex and the sodding City."

"How did your mums meet? Did you two know each other already?" Zayn looked confused.

"No, we bumped into each other in Manchester," Harry explained. "When we auditioned. Then our Mums chatted a bit. And then, I guess... welcome to the power of social media?"

"I auditioned at Manchester," Zayn shrugged. "I think I saw you both leaving as I got there. I only just got out of bed in time - me mum dragged me along. I wanted to get more sleep, if I'm honest."

"Aren't you glad you met us though, Zaynie?" Niall asked enthusiastically. "If nothing else, I'm sure our mere existence in your life will enrich it in unimaginable ways."

"Yes, I've no doubt about that," Zayn replied drily.

"Well, this year is the first time they held auditions in Dublin since 2006, else I wouldn't be here," Niall grinned. "Da will bring me over for the Derby games, but he didn't wanna travel too far for this. 'Just a wee pipe dream laddy, let's see if they even think you're any good first.'" He put on a gruffer tone, obviously impersonating his father. "He's made up for me that I'm here though. Ma's less happy. She's worried about me getting pulled into the 'dark an' seedy' side of big bad London. Da told her it's no worse than Dublin after Ireland have beaten Wales in the rugby, but I'm not sure she believed him."

"I only just made the cut off," Harry shrugged. "If I'd been born a day later, I wouldn't have been old enough." He frowned slightly as he thought. "Bit of a weird cut off though - the first of February. Why not the 31st of January? That would make far more sense."

"Let's not query it, love," Louis rolled his eyes slightly. "Are we going again? Now that we've all had some food?"

"Okay, I'm ready," Niall strummed his fingers over his guitar quickly. "One, two, three, four..."

They continued to practice the song, their voices blending together easily, until Amy came to find them.

"Hello you lot," she greeted them. "You need to get your butts back into the main arena. Time for everyone to sing again for Mr Cowell and Mr Walsh. They're planning on halving the number of acts today, so let's hope you've got this down."

"Thanks for that, Amy," Louis told her with a more deliberate eye roll. "Way to make us all feel nervous. Do you want us all to fuck up?"

"Hey, hey, Mr Tomlinson, that's enough of that from you, thank you," Amy protested. "I was told that you all needed to be made aware, rather than it being passed around like Chinese Whispers. Else you'd all be thinking that everyone was leaving today and they were getting more acts in tomorrow, or something. I know how these things work."

"Alright, alright," Niall pushed forward. "Let's just get back in there, yeah?"

"Lead the way, fair maiden," Harry bowed dramatically at Amy.

"Yeah, that's gonna get you into trouble if you continue with that," she told him. "Dial that shit back, or you'll be given a rep before you even start."

Harry looked a little confused, but didn't say anything else. The five lads filed out of the stairwell, following Amy through the corridors back into the main arena, where nearly everyone else had already gathered.

On  the stage, front and centre, stood Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh, each with their own microphones this time.

"Is everyone back?" Simon asked, sounding a little impatient. "Great, good. Okay. We're going to go through each category, and listen to a row of five at a time sing your assigned song. We'll start with the Girls, so if you can all make your way over to the left of the stage, you'll be given microphones and your lineups. Everyone else, please take a seat further back - there are a few chairs and cushions provided."

Without saying another word, or even giving Louis Walsh a chance to say anything, he strode off the stage and down to the front, taking a seat behind the table that had been set up in the same approximate location as the desk during auditions.

Louis looked around at Harry, Liam, Zayn, and Niall, before shrugging and leading the way over to a cluster of cushions, all of them settling down to watch the Girls category.

Once they'd heard 'If I Were A Boy' ten times in a row, all five were groaning quietly in agony.

"Can't we go to a different category? Just for one song?" Zayn asked, keeping his voice down. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I adore Beyoncé, she's the queen after all. But holy shit, these versions are awful."

"Quite frankly, they're an insult," Liam muttered.

"Right?" Zayn exclaimed, nudging against him.

"We're good, lads, that was the last row," Niall told them, the only one to be paying closer attention to the stage. "We've got the Groups next - can anyone remember what they were doing?"

"That song from that film," Harry piped up.

"That's helpful," Liam raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, uh, Mannequin, was the film... um. I think the song's by Starship? 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us'?" Harry tried.

"Excellent knowledge for a young'un there, Styles," Louis told him with an impressed tone to his voice.

"You make it sound like I'm a baby," Harry huffed. "But Mum loves that film, so," he shrugged, "I've seen it a lot."

"Everyone brace yourselves for a lot more ruination of semi-decent music then," Louis sighed, leaning back on his elbows.

"They might be good?" Niall shrugged.

"When are reality show groups ever any good?" Zayn asked.

"JLS were good," Liam said immediately.

"Okay, I'll give you that," Zayn conceded. "But I don't think any others have ever been anywhere near that level of class."

By the time the Groups had finished, all five had migrated further back the room, trying to get away from the sounds that were being produced on the stage.

"Maybe the Overs will be better?" Harry suggested hopefully.

"Oh my word, Harry," Louis shook his head in amusement. "I very much appreciate your whimsical positivity, love. But I think we all know that this is going to be a train wreck. Especially as they're singing Lady Gaga."

"This is going to be terrible," Zayn sighed.

They suffered through the oftentimes painful interpretations of 'Poker Face', and then slowly began to move, getting to their feet and making their way down to the left hand side of the stage to fetch their microphones ready for when the Boys category would be sent onstage. Amy made sure that all five were in their own row, nodding at them reassuringly before they were sent out as the first of the Boys.

"Right boys," Simon greeted them. "If you could please just go along the row and remind us of your names, then we'll cue the music."

"I'm Niall Horan, 16, from Mullingar in Ireland."

"I'm Liam Payne, 16, from Wolverhampton."

"Hiya, I'm Zayn Malik, I'm 17, and I'm from Bradford."

"Hiii, I'm Harry Styles, I'm 16, from Holmes Chapel in Cheshire."

"Hi there, my name's Louis Tomlinson, I'm 18, and I'm from Doncaster."

"Thank you very much, boys," Simon nodded, then gestured for the music to start.

The five boys glanced at each other, and slipped into what they'd been doing by the end of their rehearsal time. Louis began, taking a deep breath as he took the opening lines.

" _ I'm gonna make a change, for once in my life, it's gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference, gonna make it right _ ," he smiled a little, feeling positive.

" _ As I turn up the collar on, my favourite winter coat, the wind is blowing my mind, _ " Liam took the next verse easily. " _ I see the kids in the streets, with not enough to eat, who am I to be blind? Pretending not to see their needs. _ "

Zayn took a slight step forward as he lifted the microphone to his mouth.

" _ A summer disregard, a broken bottle top, and a one man's soul, they follow each other on the wind you know, cause they got nowhere to go, that's why I want you to know... _ "

He stepped back again and the other four moved in closer to him to join in for the chorus.

" _ I'm starting with the man in the mirror, I'm asking him to change his ways, and no message could've been any clearer, if you wanna make this world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change. _ "

Harry grinned at the sound of their solid harmonies, then chuckled slightly as both Zayn and Louis gently pushed him forward.

" _ I've been a victim of, a selfish kind of love, it's time that I realise, that there are some with no home, not a nickel to loan, could it be really me, pretending that they're not alone? _ "

Liam took over easily, his voice sliding through the vocals.

" _ A willow's deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart, and a washed out dream. _ "

Niall slung his arm over Liam's shoulders as he joined in for the second part of the verse.

" _ They follow the pattern of the wind you see, cause they got no place to be, that's why I'm starting with me. _ "

They all launched into the chorus again, gathering close together and feeding off of each others' excitement and presence, not noticing the thoughtful and considering looks that Simon was giving them.

When they brought the song to a close, the arena filled with the sound of applause and cheers - the first time it had happened since the performances had begun. The five looked at each other and blushed a little, bowing awkwardly and shuffling off the stage to where Dermot was waiting.

"Lads!" he exclaimed. "That was amazing! You actually sounded like a proper little group! Are you sure about doing this solo?"

"I just wanna sing," Harry shrugged. "I don't mind if I've got people with me - I started out in a band."

"I'm the same," Louis agreed.

"These guys are pretty damn awesome, it has to be said," Liam chuckled. "I can't believe we just did that, if I'm honest."

"We totally fuckin nailed it," Niall grinned, throwing his arms in the air excitedly.

"I can't believe that just happened," Zayn mumbled, looking completely dazed.

"You, watch the language, little Irishman," Dermot chastised Niall gently. "But I gotta say, I agree. You completely nailed it. I'd even go out on a limb and say that, collectively, that was the best performance we've seen all day. Congratulations boys, and all the best of luck for the next round."

They each hugged Dermot quickly and then moved back down to the floor of the arena, where they were greeted with hugs from all of the other contestants waiting there, listening to the next lot of Boys half destroy the song.

"Definitely not as good as us," Niall muttered to Harry, who snickered into his hand.

By the end of the day, they had all gathered around on the stage in the main arena, waiting to hear if their names were going to be called or not. When their numbers had reduced from 211 down to 105 in less than ten minutes, the five looked at each other anxiously.

"Shit, we're through to the second day," Louis muttered. He paused for a moment, then groaned loudly. "I'm gonna have to share a room with my very pissed mother. She's gonna snore like fuck, I just know it."

"How about we pile the mums in one room and we share the other?" Harry suggested, his cheeks pinkening slightly.

"That," Louis pointed at him. "Is probably the best idea I've ever heard." He eyed Harry a little suspiciously. "You don't kick, do you? Or hog the covers?"

"Not that I know of, but I'm guessing there'll be twin beds, so we won't need to share?" Harry looked uncertain.

"Depends which room we get, I guess," Louis shrugged. "Me and Mum went for a double rather than a twin cos it was cheaper when we added the breakfast. Had to pay if it was a twin, but it's free with a double. Go figure."

"And you're okay with sharing with your mum?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, probably sounds a bit weird," Louis bit his lip. "But we're really close, we always have been. She's my best friend. We regularly have film nights snuggled up in her bed when my dad has to work late and the girls are already in bed. I dunno. We paint each others nails and shit. Normal stuff." He blushed when he realised what he'd admitted. "Y'know. Like. Yeah."

"I wanted to paint my nails today, but Gem said it'd look weird," Harry sighed heavily.

"Gemma doesn't know what she's talking about," Louis sniffed haughtily. "I think having your nails painted would look lovely. Do you wanna grab some from Boots and I'll paint them for you tonight?"

"What are you lads doing about dinner?" Niall interrupted. "We're gonna head to McDonald's cos it's closest, if you're up for coming with us?"

"Means a bit more time for our mums to get a bit more drunk?" Louis shrugged. "Yeah, let's do it."

"Oh, uh, I don't have any more money on me," Harry mumbled, blushing a little.

"I'll spot you, you're good," Louis slung his arm around Harry's shoulder. "Not like I'd let you starve, Curly. And we can grab that nail varnish on the way back to round up our wayward mothers."

Harry let out a giggle as he curled into Louis' chest, bringing one hand to rest on Louis' stomach while the other slipped around his waist and gently gripped his hip.

They passed a cheerful meal with the other three lads, chattering non-stop about what had happened that day, and what they thought would happen the next, slipping into an easily comfortable friendship and camaraderie as they joked and teased each other like they'd been friends for years. They eventually left the restaurant and started to head down the road back towards the cluster of hotels. When they reached the small Boots, Harry and Louis slipped inside to grab the promised nail varnish, while the other three waited outside and chatted quietly among themselves.

"Do you think something's going on between them?" Niall asked suddenly, nodding his head towards the shop.

"How do you mean?" Liam asked, looking confused. "They're friends, right?"

"I think he means something a bit more than friendship, babe," Zayn smirked.

"More? Like...? Oh..." Liam widened his eyes slightly. "You think so?"

"Dunno," Niall shrugged. "They're just close, aren't they? Like, really close, considering they only really properly met today. And like, their mums?"

"Mums are weird, Niall, you can't judge us all by them," Louis interjected as he stepped out of the shop, Harry right behind him. "But I can assure you that Harold and I are friends, and friends alone." He paused, then shrugged a shoulder. "At the moment, anyway."

Harry looked at him sharply.

"I thought you said you had a girlfriend?" he demanded. "I heard your first audition, and you had that blonde girl with you."

"Eh, well, she's a friend," Louis hedged. "But we've never been on a date. And I think that was the only time I've ever referred to her as my girlfriend."

"So are you with the girl, or just stringing her along?" Niall raised an eyebrow.

"Neither, she's a friend, and I'm incredibly gay," Louis said bluntly. "She agreed to tag along to give me the illusion of being straight, in case it had an impact on my getting through."

"So she's your beard?" Zayn asked.

"One way of putting it, I guess," Louis shrugged again. "We'll 'split up' soon, I expect."

"She's a good friend then?" Liam asked, still looking uncertain. "I mean, to be a front like that."

"Yeah, I guess so. She was the only one chill enough to agree. The others were all 'but what if there's someone I like on the show???'" Louis rolled his eyes. "Like that's what's more important apparently." He glanced over at Harry, realising he'd gone very quiet. "You okay there, Curly?"

"Um, yeah, yeah," Harry shook his head slightly, as though trying to clear it a little. "Sorry, head went a bit spinny. We getting back to the hotel then? See what state our mums are in?"

"Sounds like a plan," Louis nodded. "We'll see you lot in the morning? Meet for brekkie at McD's? Say about 8?"

"We'll be there," Liam immediately agreed. "Have a good evening, lads."

"You too," Harry smiled softly, then followed Louis across the road and in through the front door of their hotel.

They collected their keycards at reception, before they looked at each other uncertainly.

"Do you wanna call your Mum?" Harry suggested warily. "I'm not sure how mine's gonna be."

"Okay, yeah, course I can," Louis immediately agreed, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "Let's just hope she's sober enough to answer." He held the phone up to his ear, listening to the ringing.

"Boobear!" came the reply within a couple of rings. "Hi there! How's it going, poppet?"

"It's fine, Mum," Louis chuckled. "Me and Harry are downstairs. Where are you and his mum? I'm guessing you're still together?"

"Oh yes, yes we are. We're in the bar, darling, come find us," Jay said quickly. "We found more people to talk to!"

"Okay, we're on our way," Louis told her and hung up before she could say anything else. "Oh jeez. Mum sounds three sheets to the wind, and it seems they've found more people to talk to. I'm gonna apologise for anything she might say now, in advance."

"I'll do the same for mine, cos I doubt she's in much of a better state," Harry sighed. "Okay. We're big and brave. We can face our mums when they're drunk."

"Can we?" Louis looked doubtful.

"Let's just get it over with," Harry nodded. "You go first, you're older than me."

"Oww, play the age card why don't you," Louis said dramatically, clutching at his chest, but leading the way nonetheless.

It didn't take them long to spot their mums, sat with three other women, all with drinks in their hands.

"Harry! Harry! C'mon!" His mum stood up and waved enthusiastically at him. "This is my boy, this is my baby, my Harry," she told the new people that the boys didn't know at the table. "He's such a good lad, and he deserves this so much, I'm so proud of him. Come here, sweetheart." Anne drew him close, hugging him tightly. "Did you have a good day?"

"Yeah, thanks Mum," Harry mumbled, succumbing to the hugs and kisses Anne was pressing to his face. "We got through to tomorrow at least. That's good, right?"

"That's wonderful!" Anne exclaimed. "Now, let me introduce you to these lovely ladies." She sat down heavily, pulling Harry down next to her. He was only slightly mollified to see that Louis was being given the same treatment by his equally as tipsy and giggly mother. "Harry, pay attention, love. This is Karen, this is Trisha, and this is Maura. They've all got boys in the competition too!"

Harry looked at each of the women, and then leaned forward so he could see Louis, who was also looking towards him with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't suppose your sons' names are Liam, Zayn, and Niall by any chance?" Louis shrugged, acting slightly nonchalant.

"How did you know?" Jay demanded.

"We've spent all day with them," Harry told her. "We sang together this afternoon, and then went for dinner before we came here. They're all wicked."

"Yeah, they're top lads," Louis agreed. "How weird that you've all found each other though. Like... fate or something."

The five ladies paused for a moment, looking at Louis, before they all burst into laughter.

"Well, anyway, we've got an early start tomorrow," Harry told Anne. "So we thought that Lou and I could share one room, and you share with his mum? So we get plenty of sleep?"

"Sounds fine, my darling," Anne told him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You go, get some sleep, and we'll see you in the morning."

"Love you, Mum," Harry murmured, hugging her gently.

"Love you too."

Harry stood up and stepped away from the table after giving the other ladies a polite goodnight, Louis quickly joining him. They grabbed their bags from under the table where their mums had stashed them, and made their way over to the lift, getting out on the third floor, and stopping at the first of the two rooms they had keys for.

"This one'll do," Louis said around a yawn, rubbing at his eyes. "We'll get those nails of yours painted, then I'm collapsing straight into bed. I'm knackered."

"We don't have to do my nails tonight," Harry said softly. "It can wait?"

"Nope, we're getting them done," Louis reassured him. "That shade of lavender is gonna look gorgeous on you." He gave Harry a reassuring smile. "I promise."

They entered the room and Louis pretended not to hear Harry's squeak of shock at seeing the solitary double bed in the middle of the room, instead of the twin single beds he'd obviously been expecting.

"You take the window side, Curls, I'll have the door side." Louis paused. "If that's okay?"

"F-fine by me," Harry stuttered out. "Uh. Y-yeah. Um. I'll just... uh. I need the loo a sec."

"Feel free," Louis waved a hand at the bathroom door, already tugging clothes out of his bag and hanging them up, an action he seldom if ever took to at home.

Louis took a deep breath as he heard the door shut firmly. A significant part of him was incredibly grateful that Harry had given them both the opportunity for a little breathing space. His thoughts were racing furiously as he tried to process everything that had already happened that day, as well as what was expected to happen that evening. He wasn't worried about painting Harry's nails - he'd been painting Lottie's for years, so he'd had plenty of practice, and he was fairly certain he'd be able to produce a pretty awesome coverage. But the sharing a bed thing... he'd read Lord of the Rings fanfiction, he knew what sharing a bed inevitably led to.

He rubbed his hands over his face. The other thing that he was struggling to handle was the fact that he had more memories trying to assimilate themselves in his head. It seemed like the more time he spent with Harry, the clearer a lot of them became. Especially, it seemed, those memories that ran to the more explicit end of the spectrum. He wasn't overly complaining - he was a teenage boy, after all - but he was finding it more than a little difficult to concentrate on the here and now when every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Husani bent over a luxurious chaise in front of him, while he - or rather, Lukman - pounded his ass hard and fast, both of them breathlessly begging for release.

Louis let out a low groan and slapped gently at his face.

"Get it together, Tommo," he muttered.

"Everything okay?" Harry asked from the now open bathroom doorway. "You seem a little..." he searched for a word, "distracted."

"I'm good, Haz, really," Louis was quick to reassure him. "I'm just having a few problems with my confidence and stuff. Mum read this book that said that slapping your cheeks when you can feel yourself start to drop into insecurities is an excellent method of halting the bad thoughts, or something. I'm not entirely sold - how does hurting myself help?"

"I don't see that it would," Harry said slowly. "But hey, what do I know?"

"Quite a lot, I reckon," Louis nodded slowly. "I'm just gonna use the loo, then nails. I can't wait to get this colour on you, Curls." He paused for a moment, then smiled reassuringly. "I think it's gonna look really, really pretty."

Harry looked at him quickly, before he blushed hard and hid a wide smile behind his hand.

"I can see your dimples, love, I know you're smiling," Louis teased gently. "Don't hide it from me. I'll be back in a sec."

With that, he shot into the bathroom to take care of his evening ablutions before he could take care of Harry again.

~~~~~~

Later on, once nails had been painted with two careful coats of polish to make sure the colour was visible, Harry and Louis got into bed together. Louis sighed softly as he stretched out a little.

"Hey, Lou?" Harry murmured, still admiring his nails in the dim light.

"Yeah, Haz?"

"How did you know that I'm not like, a serial killer or something?"

Louis let out a loud snort as he burst into giggles, curling in on himself as he rolled onto his side to face Harry.

"You?" he eventually managed. "A serial killer?"

"Yeah?" Harry chuckled softly, looking a little insulted even as he laughed. "I mean, you didn't really ask many questions before you just, like... leapt into bed with me?" Louis raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his choice of words. "You know what I mean! There wasn't any hesitancy or anything. Just." Harry waved a hand, gesturing to both of them. "This."

"I dunno, Harry," Louis shrugged a shoulder. "It's something I can't really explain. I just... I feel like I get you? And you get me? I dunno. Feels like I've known you forever, through a thousand lifetimes or something."

"You feel that too?" Harry murmured.

Louis blinked slowly, his eyes widening slightly as he wondered for a moment if Harry had experienced the same thing as he had, and could remember everything they used to be through the years.

"Uh, a little?" he stammered. "I guess?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded slowly. "Kinda like you've always been there. Even though we've only known each other a handful of hours. Like you get with some people."

Louis felt himself deflate a little when he realised that Harry wasn't trying to tell him anything in particular.

"Yeah, you do," he quietly agreed. "We should get some sleep - it's late, and we're gonna have another long day tomorrow."

"I can't wait to see the lads' faces when we tell them we met their mums," Harry snickered. "I reckon they're gonna think we made it up or something."

"Probably," Louis smiled. "It's a bit weird after all. But Haz. Sleep. Please."

"Sorry, old man," Harry teased. "Night night."

Louis shook his head slightly and turned over again, closing his eyes to try and get some sleep in before their early call.

He dreamed.

~~~~

_ 79AD, Pompeii _

"Hadrianus, get your ass back here!"

"Catch me if you can, Lucius!"

The younger Hadrianus scampered along the paved streets, diving between various villagers who were going about their normal daily business, and didn't really need young men - who were supposed to be with their teachers learning the important lessons of philosophy and thinking - running about and getting under their feet.

"H, we're gonna be in so much trouble!" Lucius followed him as best as he could, apologising to everyone he nearly bowled over on the way. "You know what my father said when Elder Gallus spoke with him last week!"

Hadrianus stopped suddenly and spun around to face Lucius, putting on a stern expression.

"Really, Lucius, it's about time you stopped messing around with that boy and took your studies seriously. You're nearly a score years old, you should be far more responsible now!"

"Exactly," Lucius huffed, putting his hands on his hips.

"And yet, here you are," Hadrianus held his arms out wide, grinning brightly. "With me, on the beach, in the sunshine." He tipped his head back and spun slowly in a circle. "Look around Lu, it's beautiful." He glanced around quickly, then grabbed the front of Lucius' toga, pulling him closer and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "And you make it more so," he added in a low murmur.

"You're such a sap, H, you know that?" Lucius sighed heavily, but ran his fingertips lightly over the markings on Hadrianus' arms. "You had any more appear?"

"Mm, after you stayed over last night," Hadrianus pressed a kiss just below Lucius' ear. "I now have laurels on my pelvis." He pulled back with a cheeky look. "Wanna see?"

"You know I do, love," Lucius gazed up at him hungrily for a moment, and then huffed. "But we should --"

"Get back to Gallus, yes, I know," Hadrianus sighed. "How about we go back, then once Gallus has finished droning on, we grab a picnic and take it out to the base of the mount? Mother's been on at me to go fetch more of those small pebbles she uses for her jewellery, so we can kill two birds with one stone. Well. Maybe more than two. Food, pebbles, and us...?"

"You're such a charmer, Hadrianus, I don't know why I put up with you at all," Lucius rolled his eyes.

"That'd be for two reasons. One, you love me."

"Debatable at times, but do share the other."

"We're soulmates, my love." Hadrianus gently caressed the intricate dagger on Lucius' arm, the latest design to have appeared on his partner's arm. "All fated and destined. The gods saw that we would be together. They planned it. And they show their satisfaction and happiness with it by giving us the art on our bodies."

"I know, I know," Lucius slipped his arms around Hadrianus' waist. "I'm forever grateful to have you in my life, my darling. You make the world an infinitely brighter place to live."

"Same goes for you," Hadrianus smiled, resting his forehead against Lucius'. "Only really feel properly alive when you're deep inside me, lover." He thought for a moment. "Or I'm inside you. You know I'm not fussy."

"No, I know. You just like to get us kicked out of the baths on a regular basis."

"Not my fault that you make me excited," Hadrianus shrugged. "Showing my love for you is as natural to me as breathing. Being around you makes me forget that we're in public sometimes."

"Sometimes?" Lucius asked in disbelief.

"Well, okay, all the time. But it's your ass, my darling. It's pert and round and perfect. And it looks at its absolute best when it's glistening with water and oil, and bouncing on my stiff cock."

"Gods, Hadrianus!" Lucius groaned. "You can't just say shit like that!"

"Like you're actually complaining, my love?" Hadrianus raised an eyebrow. "And don't even bother trying to lie, my sweet. I can feel how interested your cock already is."

"Well, it's not like we can do anything about it here," Lucius muttered. "We have to go to Elder Gallus. And we're out in the open, H. Anyone could see us."

"And that's bothered you since when, exactly?"

"You're the one who's happy to be watched, H, not me." Lucius let out a low whine as Hadrianus carefully slipped a hand into the intricate folds of his toga and wrapped his fingers around Lucius' stiff cock.

"Hmm, well this begs to differ," Hadrianus smirked a little, gently squeezing.

"You are the worst man in the world, did you know that?" Lucius gripped Hadrianus' arms, trying to maintain his balance as his eyes fluttered closed. "Fuck."

"C'mon, my darling," Hadrianus murmured against Lucius' ear, moving his hand over Lucius' stiff length, using his pre-come to make the glide smoother. "There's no one around anyway. It's just me and you. And I want you to just let go. For once, just trust me to look after you."

"I do trust you," Lucius mumbled weakly. his inhibitions rapidly falling around him as he succumbed to his lover's bidding. "Oh Gods, H. Don't stop. I..."

"That's it, so good, so good for me." Hadrianus smiled softly. "I love you, my darling. I love you with every part of me. My heart, my blood, my breath." He pressed a tender kiss to Lucius' lips and whispered, "my soul."

Lucius let out a low moan at those words and arched his back towards Hadrianus as he shuddered through his orgasm, coating the inside of his toga and Hadrianus' hand with his come, before he slumped against his lover, panting hard.

"Fuck," he eventually managed to gasp. "How do you always manage to do that to me?"

"Mm, it's a talent," Hadrianus chuckled. "And I practice regularly."

"Should definitely keep that up," Lucius mumbled, pressing a kiss to Hadrianus' throat. "Love you."

"I love you too."

Hadrianus removed his hand slowly, looking at the mess thoughtfully, before he tasted it carefully.

"Gods, H, can you just wash it off?" Lucius practically begged.

"Why?" Hadrianus met his gaze steadily as he slipped a finger into his mouth, slowly and thoroughly sucking it clean. "You afraid you're gonna wanna go again?"

Lucius glared a little.

"You're being a tease, and we don't have ti--" Lucius was cut off as a loud rumble came from the mount, and the floor trembled roughly beneath them. "Shit, what was that?"

"I'm not sure," Hadrianus frowned and wiped his hand off on his toga. "It didn't feel good though. Maybe someone's displeased the Gods?"

"Probably us, for being late to Elder Gallus!" Lucius chastised.

"Oh come off it, we're always late to Gallus, the Gods have never got annoyed like this!" Hadrianus grabbed hold of Lucius' arms as another rumble and vibration rocked them even harder. "What in the world?" He looked up at the mount and his eyes widened. "Lu! Look!" He pointed.

Lucius turned and raised his gaze to take in the top of the mount, which was seemingly on fire.

"What the fuck?" he muttered weakly. "H-how?"

"What's happening, Lu?" Hadrianus pressed closer to Lucius, for once appearing like the younger boy he was. "I don't understand."

"Nor do I, love," Lucius wrapped his arms around Hadrianus. "We should get home."

"No, no, I want to be with you," Hadrianus protested. "I'm scared and I don't want to be near Mother - she'll be panicking and stressing and worrying. I'd rather stick with you. Please."

"Oh darling," Lucius gently rested a hand against his cheek. "Like I'd be anywhere else but right beside you."

"Is it the end of the world?" Hadrianus whispered. "Like Gallus keeps telling us is going to happen?"

Lucius looked back up at the mount, which had gotten more fiery in the time they'd been standing there, and was now starting to spurt thick fiery flames and molten rock up into the air. As he held Hadrianus close, he could tell that the mount was gearing up for something more, something worse, and he feared for their lives, and for the lives of his family, of Hadrianus' family, of all of the people in Pompeii. He knew he had to be honest with Hadrianus, that lying would not help in this situation - he needed his lover to trust him and what he was about to suggest.

"I think it is, my sweet," he eventually murmured. "And I think we need to try and get up into the hills. Onto higher ground." He pulled back slightly to look at Hadrianus. "Do you trust me?"

"With my whole life," Hadrianus replied immediately.

"C'mon, we need to try and get through the city, find our families on the way," Lucius grabbed hold of Hadrianus' hand. "We'll get through this, H. And even if we don't, if the worst happens, I promise you I'll be beside you all the way. And I'll find you in our next lives." He pressed a hand to Hadrianus' chest, over his heart. "I will always, always find you. You're my everything, in this life and every other after."

Hadrianus leaned down, kissing him firmly, his cheeks already streaked with tears.

"Let's go," he mumbled softly as he pulled back.

Lucius nodded and turned away from the mount, leading Hadrianus back towards Pompeii itself. They darted through the streets, which were filling quickly with people screaming desperately as the tremors were increasing in their intensity and frequency, shaking the city to its core. They made their way to Hadrianus' home first, throwing the door open and calling for Hadrianus' parents and sister, but hearing nothing in reply.

"They must have left already," Hadrianus said helplessly, grabbing hold of the door frame as the ground rocked beneath them again. "Would they have gone up? Or to your family?"

"We're going to my home anyway, so we'll just try there next," Lucius told him. "Have faith, my heart. We'll find them."

They escaped back onto the streets, finding it harder to get through the masses of people that were now filling the narrow alleys in their joint despair. The air was hot, hotter than even the hottest day in summer, and was starting to fill with ash and soot and smoke, which were all coming from the mount as it built itself up more and more. Lucius managed to both keep hold of Hadrianus' hand and forge a path through the bodies, making his way over to his own home, which was also abandoned.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed, kicking at one of his sister's toys that had been abandoned on the floor.

"Lu," Hadrianus called from the door. "Lu, everyone's going down to the beach. Should we go that way?"

"I... I don't know, H," Lucius dropped into a crouch, putting his arms over his head, swaying in place as the ground shifted again. "Oh Gods, I don't know what to do."

Hadrianus crossed to him quickly, kneeling beside him.

"Lucius, my soul," he murmured. "We have three options. We can go down to the beach, try and find our families and be with them no matter what happens. We can try to get up into the hills, see if we can survive this, if we can even get there - I think I heard someone say that the roads had broken up completely. Or, we can stay here. We can go into your room, and we can lay on your bed, and we can just hold onto each other until the end comes."

Lucius lifted his head slowly, his cheeks showing the clean streaks of his tears through the soot that had collected there in their dash through the streets.

"I think I want to stay here," he mumbled. "I don't think I can handle seeing my sisters being scared while I can't do anything to help it. I want to be with you."

"Then that's what we're going to do, Lu." Hadrianus stood slowly, gently guiding Lucius back upright and steadying both of them as the ground tipped beneath them. "C'mon." He slipped his hand into Lucius', and led the way through the house to Lucius' room, which was surprisingly fairly intact. "On the bed with you."

Lucius shrugged out of his toga first, letting it drop to the floor, before he stepped out of his sandals and crawled onto the bed, patting the space next to him for Hadrianus to join him. With a smile, Hadrianus stripped also and climbed in, pressing his bare skin to his lover's.

"Do you really think this is the end of the world?" Lucius murmured softly, cuddling in close.

"I think it may really be," Hadrianus replied, pressing a tender kiss to Lucius' temple. "But there's nowhere in the world I would rather be than right here with you."

Lucius closed his eyes, trying to ignore the sounds of the screams and the bangs outside, and the way the building kept lurching with the explosions that seemed to come from beneath the ground. He hid his face in Hadrianus' neck, feeling safe there in his arms even as the mount exploded its thick molten rock out over the top. The air got hotter and thicker, filling more with ash and soot as the lava cascaded down over the side of the mount, surging towards the city of Pompeii and destroying everything in its path, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake. Hadrianus clutched Lucius tighter to him, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes also, as the heat intensified around them, until both of them knew no more.

~~~~

_ 23rd July 2010, Wembley Hilton Hotel, London, 3am _

"Shit!" Louis sat up with a gasp.

The heat had felt so real. The fear and the desperation to survive, before the acceptance that it was the end. Louis shivered hard, not from cold, but from the knowledge that what he had just dreamed had actually happened.

"You 'kay, Lou?" Harry mumbled sleepily, turning his head slowly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay, Haz," Louis said reassuringly, running a shaky hand over his face as he lay back down. "Go back to sleep."

"'kay," Harry sighed, shifting over and cuddling closer to Louis' side. "Night, Lou."

"Night, H," Louis replied softly.

He watched the younger boy, his face so similar to that of Hadrianus in his dream. He shifted slightly as he recalled the earlier part, where he'd made a mess of his toga, and his cheeks burned with embarrassment. He was also slightly curious, as it seemed that their relationship wasn't hidden or shameful. Louis didn't recall  _ that _ part of his history lessons.

He let out a soft sigh and wriggled against his pillow, closing his eyes and trying to settle back into sleep. As he'd told Harry earlier, they had a long day ahead, and sleep was definitely needed.

~~~~~

Once their alarms went off at 7am - Louis would be cursing that Marimba tone for hours - they washed, dressed, and headed downstairs for breakfast in the hotel restaurant with their mums - both of whom were nursing sore heads and glaring a little at their sons' over-exaggerated enthusiasm for the day - before they made their way up the road to McDonald's to meet the other boys.

"Oi oi lads!" Louis greeted them with a grin. "You'll never guess who we met last night!"

"Please don't say my mum," Liam immediately said desperately.

"Sorry Leemo, but yep," Louis nodded. "Met all your mums, actually."

"They spent the afternoon and evening with our mums," Harry offered.

"Mum said something about finding a load of other mums, but she didn't give any names," Zayn sighed.

"How random's that though?" Niall asked. "That we've been working together, and our mums all meet up?"

"Definitely an unexpected occurrence, that's for sure," Louis snickered. "But enough about them - although they were definitely enjoying the cocktails - are we ready for day two?"

"No!" chorused the other four.

"That's what I thought," Louis nodded seriously.

They all sat down and chatted quietly, munching their way through their second breakfasts - they were growing boys, Niall rationalised - and then started the short walk down to the arena, where unsurprisingly, Amy was waiting outside with a megaphone in hand.

"Good morning, again!" she called out. "Today is the dance section of boot camp." Liam and Louis each grabbed hold of Zayn's arms as he tried to turn and leave. "You will be working with Brian Friedman, who is our choreographer and creative director, on a basic dance routine which you will then present to Mr Cowell and Mr Walsh at the end of the day. Your performance in that presentation will be taken into consideration during selection for Judges' Houses."

"No pressure then," Niall muttered.

"I can't fucking dance," Zayn hissed. "I'm gonna go home now."

"Shut your face and listen to the nice lady," Louis told him sternly.

Zayn huffed and folded his arms across his chest, scowling at the floor.

"If you could please make your way inside to the main arena, you will be met by Brian and his team who will show you the routine you need to learn. You will be given time, in your groups of five to ten from yesterday, with at least one member of the team to go over the routine in greater depth. You will be brought back to the stage this afternoon to perform for the judges." Amy grinned around at them. "Don't forget - have fun!"

The smaller crowd cheered semi-enthusiastically before they started to move into the arena, chattering among themselves.

"I'm serious," Zayn immediately said. "I cannot dance, and I'm not gonna be able to do this part. I might as well just go home already."

"You actually think any of us are brilliant dancers?" Louis raised an eyebrow.

"Speak for yourself, Lou," Harry sniffed. "I'll have you know I can throw down with the best of them."

"I can bob a bit," Niall shrugged a shoulder.

"I mean, I like Usher?" Liam offered, then blushed slightly. "I've been known to practice a few routines in my room."

"Great, so Liam's the dancer, the rest of us are rhythmically challenged," Louis rolled his eyes. "So we'll stick together, and just work this out between us. Hopefully the routine won't be too taxing, on either our brains or our bodies..."

They followed the other people along the walkways to the main arena, to find a large dance troupe on the stage, obviously waiting for them all to gather. As soon as the last stragglers joined the group at the front of the room, music started blaring from the main sound system, making a few of the contestants jump slightly. The dance troupe began to move, making their way through a relatively complex routine, and ending dramatically in a collective pose.

"We are so fucked," Louis stated, his voice carrying out a little louder than he'd intended, so that everyone gathered could hear and causing them all to burst into laughter.

"I wouldn't go that far," Brian Friedman stepped close to the edge of the stage, panting slightly. "I'm sure you're all perfectly capable of carrying out that routine. If you could split yourselves up into groups of five to seven, and one of my colleagues will come around, take you off to a conference room, and work through this with you for the morning. Please listen to what is said and how you are instructed. It will help you with your performance this afternoon."

With a gesture to the rest of the troupe, he stepped back again as they all filed off of the stage and fetched the groups of people that had split themselves up. The five boys watched with mild interest as everyone exited the room, leaving them standing there, with Brian still on the stage, looking at them.

"I guess I've got you, then," he raised an eyebrow. "C'mon then, you may as well be up here to do this." He pointed at the staircase on the side of the stage. "Up you get, and we'll get started." The boys reluctantly did as instructed. "I promise you all, you're gonna be able to do this."

"I highly fucking doubt it," Zayn muttered.

"Hey," Liam whispered. "Can you do like, the bhangra dances? Cos that'd be awesome."

Zayn shot him a surprised look, but eventually slipped Liam a small smile.

"I can, but I don't think anyone here would have ever heard of bhangra, let alone the music it's done to," he replied. "But thank you for asking. It's nice to have that part of my life respected for once."

"I'll be honest, it completely fascinates me," Liam smiled brightly. "I love the sound and the energy. I love the food and culture and everything around that kind of music too."

"That's what I was brought up on," Zayn said shyly.

"Sorry to interrupt your conversation, lads," Louis interjected, looking genuinely remorseful. "Apparently we've gotta pay attention or some such shit."

Harry was already chattering away to Brian, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly. Niall was eyeing the stage exits longingly, his hands twitching, evidence that he was missing the security blanket of his guitar.

"Okay, we're here," Zayn sighed. "Let's get this over with."

Brian began to break the routine down, taking them through it section by section, but eventually realising that none of the boys really had anything remotely resembling the ability to pull the routine off to what he would consider an acceptable level. In a last ditch attempt, twenty minutes before they had to break for lunch, he simplified it up a little, and managed to get them to remember at least one part of it.

"Alright boys, that's enough for now," he sighed. "Go, eat, drink plenty, come back here in an hour. I'll have a chat with my colleagues, but I think we're gonna have to make it easier than Simon wanted." He eyed the five of them. "Although if any of you lot get through, there's no way I'm choreographing for you. You'll be nightmares to work with."

"I think that's a bit unnecessary," Liam protested. "We're not  _ that _ bad."

The other four looked at him with varying levels of disbelief.

"You might not be, Lima, but I don't think the rest of us have a hope in hell's chance of getting through this section," Niall told him, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "But we'll worry about that later. For now we need to go get me some Nando's before my stomach thinks my throat's been cut."

"You are so grim, Nialler," Louis told him with a grimace.

"Thanks for that, Tommo!" the Irishman beamed and let go of Liam to jump off the stage, scampering lightly along the floor towards the exit.

"Just think, we might end up having to put up with him until Christmas," Harry commented.

"You putting you and Ni up for sticking around that long?" Zayn raised an eyebrow. "Not that I'm doubting, but... pretty big balls there, mate."

"No, no, oh god, no," Harry shook his head quickly. "I mean, I wouldn't."

"Harry Styles?" a voice interrupted their conversation. "I'm looking for Harry Styles?"

"Who wants to know?" Niall demanded, popping up in front of the inquiring runner, as the rest made their way off the stage.

"I've been sent to fetch you," the runner said, obviously thinking that Niall was Harry. "You're to come and do a piece for Xtra Factor."

"What sort of a piece?" Louis asked suspiciously.

"It's just a bit of fun, as far as I know," the runner shrugged. "There's gonna be a few of the girls involved."

"The girls?" Harry asked in confusion. "Why?"

"I'm sorry, I'll explain briefly to Harry, but the rest of you should carry on with whatever you were doing."

"Sorry mate, but you're gonna have to explain this to all of us," Liam said bluntly. "We have to practice, but we've been given our lunch break. If you want to cut into it with one of us, during which we were planning on discussing some things that are critical to our performance, then you're going to have to give us a valid reason for it."

The runner sighed and ran a hand through his hair before looking at Niall again.

"They want you to pretend to have promised to go out with a few of the girls, like you're a womaniser or something. That's all I know."

"Yeah, not a chance," Louis immediately stated. "We're not agreeing to that. It's not a good enough reason for us to lose that time. Sorry. Go find another sucker."

"I'm sorry, but I have to take you along," the runner said, sounding a little desperate. "I'm only an intern. I could lose my position."

"I'm sad to hear that for you, pal," Zayn replied, gently patting him on the shoulder. "But the decision stands. You're not taking Haz with you."

The runner looked like a kid who'd been told Christmas was cancelled.

"Sorry buddy," Niall agreed. "Harry's not yours."

The runner looked confused as all five of the boys filed out past him, Harry giving him a small wave before they left the arena floor.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Louis demanded as soon as they were outside and walking down the road towards Nando's. "Making Harry a womaniser? He's barely sixteen!"

"Excuse me, I'm sixteen and a half. Almost," Harry huffed defensively.

"I rest my case," Louis snickered softly, nudging him gently. "I'm teasing, Harry. But c'mon. You're the furthest thing from a womaniser I've ever seen." He gently tugged at a lock of Harry's hair. "It's the curls, I reckon."

"Curls get the girls, don't they?" Zayn grinned, bumping his hip gently against Harry's.

"M'not particularly interested in the girls, actually," Harry pouted. "If you really want to know."

"Nothing wrong with that, Haz," Niall assured him. "M'not exactly all about the girls either." He paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Not sure what I'm about, if I'm honest."

"My first kiss was with a lad," Zayn shrugged. "Was a lot better than my second kiss, which was with a girl. I'm kinda open to whatever, y'know?"

"My first wet dream was about Justin Timberlake," Liam blurted out, and immediately blushed hard.

The other four all stopped dead to look at him with wide eyes, before shrugging in unison and continuing on.

Louis skipped a little ahead and glanced over his shoulder at them, before he grabbed hold of the nearest lamp post and spun around it flamboyantly.

"And we already know I’m queer as a maypole," he declared bluntly.

"So, none of us are straight?" Liam looked around at them sounding a little awed.

"We are a textbook example of the Gay Agenda," Harry nodded sagely.

"You do talk some shit, Harry," Louis told him as he pushed open the door to Nando's. "And you're lucky you're you. Cos from anyone else it'd be really annoying. But you're all endearing and shit." Louis chuckled softly, then pulled Harry into a quick side hug. "It's cute. And definitely not womaniser-like."

"Can we stop using that word already?"

"Sorry, sorry. No more, I promise."

All too soon they'd all eaten, and had made their way back to the arena, all of them - except Liam, but he was trying not to be obvious about it - were dreading the afternoon, and Zayn was very pointedly and repeatedly commenting that he was going to look like a dick and wind up the laughing stock of Bradford.

Louis had finally had enough and grabbed him in a headlock as they approached the front door, the other three just laughing as Zayn protested and tried to protect his hair, until they stopped dead at the sight of Amy waiting for them with her arms folded across her chest.

"Hey Amy, how's it going?" Louis asked, not letting go of Zayn.

"I need a word," she said frostily.

"Yeah? We can do that," Niall agreed. "Inside?"

"No, here's fine," she snapped. "What's this I hear about you banding together and interfering with an instruction from production?"

"Instruction from production?" Zayn asked from under Louis' arm. "Dunno what that is, but it's a sick rhyme."

"Colin came to fetch you before you went on lunch, Harry," Amy focused her attention on the youngest boy. "But it seems that the rest of your friends ran interference and left with you in tow. Meanwhile, I had to fire Ben for his inability to follow a basic instruction, and we don't have any footage for the segment we had planned."

Louis let go of Zayn as he stepped forward with an indignant look.

"Hey, don't blame Harry for that," he said firmly. "We're the ones who decided he wasn't going, not when we heard what type of 'segment' you wanted him for. Womaniser? Him? Are you off your head?"

"Excuse me?" Amy demanded.

"I should think so," Louis replied. "Harry's only just sixteen, Amy. I didn't realise you were into sex trafficking of minors here. But that's basically what you were going to be implying."

"That was not, at all!" Amy spluttered.

"I had a quick ask around in Nando's - apparently it's a favourite place for X Factor types," he told her as an aside. "The girls you were going to bring on for Harry to have supposedly 'strung along' - they were all older than him. By at least four years. At least. There are still plenty of sixteen and seventeen year olds here, but you wanted him with the girls in their twenties - any particular reason why? Cos, and I'm sure you're aware, any relationship implied between Harry and anyone else over the age of eighteen would be considered an inappropriate relationship, and the fact that you would be filming the exchange, could allow that to be classed as minor child pornography."

Amy stared at him, her eyes wide with horror, as she obviously had not considered the legal side of the 'fun' section she had planned and had approved.

"But," she eventually muttered. "What do I tell Simon? He agreed with it wholeheartedly. Said it was the best direction for you to take your public profile," she added to Harry.

"I don't wanna take my public profile in that direction," Harry told her flatly. "I'm gay."

"Ohhh," she replied, drawing it out slowly. "That... okay. Yeah, now I get it. He wants to control how you're perceived. So he wants you to appear straight."

"But I'm not straight," Harry said blankly. "I just told you."

"I know, but, like, you want to appeal to your ideal fanbase, right?"

"And who would that be?"

"Pre-teen and teen-aged girls," Amy told him confidently. "Which means you'll need to appear to be available to them. And that they'd have a chance with you."

"So, I'd need to be straight in order to be popular, in order to sell records, is that what you're saying?" Harry checked. "I'd have to go back in the closet, even though all of my friends and family at home know that I kiss boys not girls?"

"Yes," Amy replied firmly. "We wouldn't be able to market a young, gay teenager."

"Guess you're lucky that only one of us will win, huh?" Louis said offhandedly. "Else you'd be stuck figuring out how to deal with five."

"Will win?" Amy asked with a smirk. "Little confident there, Louis." She paused for a moment. "Wait, five? Five what?"

"Five gay teenagers," Liam clarified with a gesture to all of them, then tilted his head slightly as she visibly paled and swayed slightly.

"I think you broke her," Niall murmured.

"Yeah, oh well," Louis shrugged. "Let's get inside before we get into trouble for being late."

The rest of the day went without a hitch. Louis and Liam strong-armed Zayn up onto the stage for their turn at the routine - all five ended up doing dinosaur moves and bouncing about on the spot for the freestyle (except for when Louis pulled out a ‘stop the traffic and screw the lightbulb’, which got the other four giggling instead) - and were eventually released with everyone else and a list of 40 songs.

"You need to choose one of these songs," Simon waved the sheet of paper around, "to sing to us tomorrow. We will have Nicole Scherzinger here with us to help us decide." He gazed around at the remaining contestants. "Get some sleep, and we'll see you in the morning."

As they walked out of the arena, Liam spotted Amy making her way over to them again, so he grabbed at Zayn's wrist and Niall's sleeve, nodding for them to get the other two and single-mindedly led the way straight outside, pushing past a couple of the groups on the way.

"What's that all about, Leemo?" Louis asked curiously as soon as they got to the bottom of the steps.

"Amy was making her way over, didn't want us to get caught up with that again," Liam admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

"Thanks, Liam," Harry gave him a small smile, then squeezed his arm. "Means a lot." He let out a loud yawn, quickly covering his mouth with a hand. "Shit. I should get some sleep."

"We need to go find out how messy our mothers are first," Louis sighed. "You lot wanna come? Cos I reckon yours are still with them."

The five wandered back towards the Hilton, where they let out a collective groan on seeing the five mums in the bar, singing along to Rihanna's  _ S&M _ at the tops of their voices.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Zayn said to Harry and Louis quickly. "Sleep well, have fun. Night!"

Before either of them could reply, Zayn had managed to shepherd both Liam and Niall out of the bar and back out onto the street to get back to their own hotel.

"Call themselves friends," Louis muttered, then looked at Harry. "What do you wanna do, leave them or try and wrestle them to a horizontal surface?"

"I'm gonna say night to Mum, then just go to bed," Harry shrugged. "It's up to her what she does. But I need sleep." He looked at her for a moment. "I hope she realises that no matter what, we're going home tomorrow evening. We haven't got the room for another night."

"Same here," Louis sighed. "We'll remind them now."

They both walked over to the group of mothers, their steps a little wary.

"Night Mum," Louis pressed a kiss to Jay's cheek. "Don't forget we're going home tomorrow, so you need to be sober. Okay?"

"Oi cheeky, I’m as sober as a judge - we’ve been on mocktails today," Jay told him, swaying slowly to the music. "This is just us letting our hair down. Anyway, did you have a good day?"

"Was okay, I'm still not a dancer," Louis chuckled. "But sleep is definitely calling for me right now."

"Go, Boo, I love you," Jay told him, hugging him tightly. "See you tomorrow."

Louis glanced over to see Harry obviously having a similar conversation with Anne, so walked to the doorway to wait patiently for him. Which happened a little sooner than Louis was expecting.

"You got an itchy arm?" Harry asked, frowning down at Louis' hand.

"Huh?" Louis glanced down, only then realising that he'd been scratching at his right arm, just below the crease of his elbow. "Oh, I didn't even notice. Not sure what's going on." He nodded towards the corridor. "We headed up?"

"Lead the way," Harry nodded, then yawned again. "I'm so tired." He huffed softly. "I think the beds here are affecting my sleep. I've not felt this rough before."

Louis bit his lip, a part of him fairly certain that the tiredness was partly to do with the soulmate part activating within them - Louis wasn't exactly the most awake or alert person either at that moment.

"Let's get you on your way to sleep then," Louis agreed. "Then we can have breakfast in the morning, before we all get sent home with nothing more than the echo of Simon Cowell's laughter to accompany us."

"Not that you're over dramatic or anything like that," Harry snorted. "Jeez, Lou. We're gonna be fine tomorrow. I just know it."

"How?"

"Call it a gut instinct?" Harry tried. "I dunno. it's just like. A confidence I have or something." He shrugged. "I dunno. I just know that things are going to work out for the best, no matter what."

"I really really hope so," Louis sighed and pushed open the door to their room.

"See you in the morning, Lou," Harry immediately yawned again and crawled onto the bed, wriggling out of his clothes as he went. "Sweet dreams and all that."

"You too, Haz," Louis told him softly.

~~~~~

_ London, 1969 _

The sun beat down heavily, as Lewis made his way between the crowds to try and find Neil. They were supposed to be meeting up with Luke and Zeke, before they went down to the pub where hopefully, Harold would be waiting with their drinks.

Lewis couldn't help but smile at the thought of Harold. That had been a surprise, for everyone really. Lewis had been practically halfway down the aisle, on his way to marry Eloise, when he'd bumped into Harold in the newsagent two days before the wedding. An apology automatically fell from his lips, and he looked up into a pair of deep green eyes that made him gasp.

A split second later, he was in a heap on the floor as he lost consciousness. It took a few minutes for him to come around, but when he did, it was to the same green eyes, looking at him worriedly.

"Oops," the man offered hesitantly.

"Hi..." Lewis breathed out slowly.

Remembering everything that had come in the years and decades and centuries before had been somewhat overwhelming, but Lewis knew that he had to stick with this man who was apparently his soulmate. He insisted he was okay, and convinced Harold to join him for a drink at the pub on the corner.

"Just to apologise for fainting on you," Lewis chuckled. "You looked really worried when I came around. That's not very fair on you."

"Really, as long as you're okay, I don't need any kind of repayment," Harold assured him.

"Then how about a drink with someone who could potentially be a new friend?" Lewis offered.

With a shy grin, Harold had agreed and followed Lewis down to the Red Lion, where they managed to lose track of a whole afternoon. They chatted and laughed and joked together as though they'd known each other their whole lives, drinking beer and eating bar snacks like they were going out of fashion.

When Lewis had finally returned home that evening, he immediately called Eloise and apologised, but the wedding couldn't go ahead - he wasn't the right person for her, and she wasn't for him. There were a lot of tears, and even more name-calling - her father had visited and provided Lewis with a shiner of a black eye - but she had eventually agreed that it was in both their best interests to end the relationship.

So Lewis had been able to spend some time reflecting on his and Harold's past lives. After only a few days, he decided that no matter what the law said, or what the church said, or what old Mrs Ellis in the flat below him said, the way he felt about the situation could only mean that it was worth pursuing.

Once he'd met up with Harold again - they'd remembered to exchange phone numbers at the end of that whirlwind afternoon, and had spent many an hour talking on the telephone since then, unless Harold's mother needed the phone. In which case, he'd given Lewis the number of the phone box down the road, so Lewis called that instead - he decided that he needed to be honest with him. So, after their first pints were finished, he suggested a walk along the river to stretch their legs.

"Okay, Lewis," Harold interrupted, before Lewis could launch into another conversation about his little brother Eddie pulling his twin sister Deirdre's hair again. "You obviously wanted us out of the pub, so we're somewhere that no one can overhear us. Spit it out, mate, and tell me what's up."

Lewis stared at him, a little gobsmacked, trying to work out how to phrase what he wanted to say, before he slowly took a breath.

"We're soulmates, and we've shared past lives," he blurted out.

Harold considered him for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"Okay," he agreed. "Sounds interesting."

"That... that's it?" Lewis looked baffled.

"Yeah? Why, did you want me to scream? Call you a queer and beat you up?" Harold raises an eyebrow. "Cos I've had that happen to me, and I don't really recommend it. Definitely the last thing I'd wish on anyone."

"Wait, you were beaten up?" Lewis frowned. "When? Are you okay? Did someone get arrested for it?"

"Yes, a while ago, yes, and no, no arrests were made." Harold rolled his eyes a little. "According to the police, there was 'insufficient evidence', even though I gave them the name and address of the bloke who did it."

"Then w--" Lewis cut himself off with a heavy sigh. "Cos you're bent."

"Mmhmm, I actually got a warning myself, so I guess I should be thankful."

"Yeah, sure, alright," Lewis looked disgusted. "I hope this country gets a clue soon."

"The whole world needs to," Harold sighed. "It shouldn't be anyone else's business what I do with my cock." He paused. "Well, apart from the person I'm doing it to. Or getting it from." He caught sight of Lewis' wide eyes. "I'm flexible, really."

Lewis burst into a fit of giggles, covering his face with his hand.

"At least it's not illegal any more," he offered. "I mean, as long as you're over 21, obviously."

"Which I am, despite still living with my mother," Harold sighed. "But anyway. You think that we should think about getting to know each other more intimately?"

"I mean, I, uh, I called off my wedding, and um, yeah?" Lewis stammered.

"I think I'm pretty cool with that idea," Harold smiled, then leaned down slightly, pressing his lips to Lewis' carefully.

Lewis gasped, but returned it carefully, his hands coming to rest on Harold's hips gently, pulling him a little closer. The kiss deepened slowly as Harold pushed him gently over against a wall, the strength at his back giving them the additional resistance they didn't even know they needed.

"Oi, look at this lads, we got a couple of poofs here!" a voice broke them apart quickly.

Lewis wiped at his mouth and straightened his jeans.

"Y'alright, mate?" he asked shakily.

"Don't you call me 'mate', I'm not your fucking 'mate'!" the bloke spat. "Like I'd ever be associated with a bunch of nancies like you. You make me sick. Taking it up the ass like you do. It's disgusting."

"You seem to know a lot about the act," Harold said flatly. "You sure you haven't engaged in a few rounds of 'let's experiment' with your mates?"

"How fucking dare you!" the bloke hissed, then looked over his shoulder. "Lads. Get them!"

Before they were even aware of what was happening, a group of men appeared from around the corner and immediately started to attack them. Lewis wasn't sure which direction the first blow came from, all he remembered was the explosion of pain in his left temple, followed by a sharp burning sensation in his lower right side, a murmur of Harold's name, and then darkness.

~~~~~

_ 24th July 2010, Wembley _

"Holy shit!" Louis sat up with a gasp, panting hard.

"Lou?" Harry mumbled. "Are you okay? More nightmares?"

"I'm okay, sorry Haz, I didn't mean to disturb you."

"S'okay, I'm awake now," Harry rubbed at his face and sat up slowly. "Wanna talk about it?"

"I..." Louis sighed softly. "I don't know how to even start," he admitted.

"From the beginning?" Harry suggested, pulling his knees up to his chest.

Louis gazed at him for a few moments, then shook his head slowly.

"No, it's okay, love," he eventually murmured. "I think I'll look after this on my own. But thank you. It means a lot that you offered to take this on for me."

"Of course," Harry shrugged a shoulder. "We're friends, aren't we?" He suddenly looked a little uncertain. "I mean, I know it's not the most conventional start to a friendship, but like... I kinda feel a connection with you? Like we're supposed to be friends?"

"Yeah," Louis smiled softly. "I get that too, love. Same with the other guys too, but to a much lesser extent."

"Yes!" Harry exclaimed, sounding a little more excited than Louis had anticipated. "It's like, we've properly slipped into a decent friendship group in like... ten seconds flat, and I really can't imagine not having you all in my life any more?" He sat back with a heavy sigh. "I don't know how I'd feel about going up against any of you as we go further through this. I'm not going to enjoy that at all."

"Me neither," Louis agreed. "It's going to be a lot more difficult than I ever thought it was."

The two leaned against each other in the dark, listening to the traffic bustling up and down Wembley High Street outside.

"Promise we'll stick it out as friends," Harry said suddenly. "Like. We'll be friends no matter who gets through, or whatever happens at the next lot of cuts tomorrow. If one stays on, or if we both get cut, we'll still be friends. We'll stay in contact. We'll meet up."

"That sounds like a pretty solid plan to me," Louis nodded. "I'm on board with that."

They exchanged a shy smile, before they both settled back down under the duvet. Within a few moments, they were fast asleep again.

What seemed like only minutes later, their alarms went off, and they were dressed and back downstairs, meeting up with Liam, Zayn, and Niall, before they made their way over to the arena.

"Good morning everyone!" Amy greeted them from her usual place on the top of the steps. "Today, you will all be singing for a place at Judges' Houses. You will be singing in the groups you were put in the other day. Please make your way inside to the main floor. You will be given your time slot then."

"Isn't this just going to be the funnest fun to ever fun?" Zayn asked, giving the others a huge fake smile.

"I think it's probably going to be an exercise in humiliation, to be quite honest," Louis sighed.

"You two are such Debbie Downers," Liam huffed.

"Debbie Downers?" Louis raised an eyebrow. "Are we in pre-school?"

"Watch it with the age jokes," Harry piped up. "Some of us are still kiddlywinks."

"Speak for yourself, Harold," Niall sniffed. "I'm a manly man!"

The five burst out into a collective peal of laughter, any tension that may have been rising effectively broken. They wandered through to the main arena and stopped alongside one of the groups, who Louis was fairly sure had introduced themselves as Princes and Rogues, which was a bit pretentious in his opinion. A band name needed to be something simple, not too deep, and memorable. If these lads didn't get through, they'd be forgotten within minutes. If on the off chance they did get through, he didn't see them surviving long - not necessarily only in the competition. He'd been watching them for a while, and he could see that there was definitely friction between three of the members, and definitely not in a good way. Not the most conducive working environment, he decided.

Louis glanced back at the other four boys he'd been with for the past couple of days, and smiled softly. Now these boys he'd be proud to be in a band with. They were all brilliant singers, and they had a decent rapport going between the five of them - like Harry had said at stupid-o'clock when he'd woken them both up - it felt like they were meant to be friends. Like fate or something. Louis was fairly sure that their souls had been alongside his and Harry's in their previous lives, but he didn't want to put that out there with them. Not yet, anyway.

He had to work out how to tell Harry first. And wasn't that going to be the most random of conversations? 'Hi, so we're soulmates, we've lived a couple hundred previous lives, oh, and as we get to know each other, we're going to gain tattoos to show our dedication to each other... how do you think you've done on your GCSEs?' Louis shook his head and sighed to himself.

"You okay there, Lou?" Zayn raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," Louis agreed quickly. "Would be good if we could get this whole thing moved along, wouldn't it? We all know what we're singing."

"Stop crying your heart outttt," Harry and Liam crooned together, then giggled.

"Absolutely beautiful," Niall nodded. "I'll put you straight through to the live shows, lads. No one here gonna beat that."

"Oh you're far too kind, Mr Horan," Harry pretended to swoon, resting the back of his hand against his forehead as he leaned against Niall, who snorted out a laugh.

"I'm your biggest fan, Mr Horan!" Liam exclaimed, jumping up and down on the spot. "Please pick me, please!" He waved his hand over his head like an excited schoolchild.

Niall could barely stay upright for giggling at the pair, while Louis and Zayn watched on, both shaking their heads in amusement.

"Good morning all," Simon Cowell's voice boomed out of the speakers, making them all jump and spin to look at the stage. "We're going to have you all up in your groups, one at a time, to sing the song you selected from the list we gave you yesterday. I hope you're all sufficiently practised, and word-perfect. There will be little patience for anyone who cannot remember the words - you will be given only one chance to give us a decent show." He glanced around. "Oh, yes. Today, we have Nicole back as a guest judge, helping us to select in Cheryl and Dannii's place." He nodded once. "Now, I'll pass over to Amy to call each group forward."

Amy took the microphone with a small deferential head bob.

"Jeez, I'm surprised she didn't curtsey," Louis muttered, huffing when Liam elbowed him gently in the ribs.

Slowly the contestants were called up, each sang their song choices, and made their way off the stage, while Simon, Louis Walsh, and Nicole Scherzinger discussed what they'd seen.

Eventually, Amy stepped up to the corner of the stage.

"Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, and Harry Styles."

The five exchanged reassuring looks, and then made their way up onto the stage, collecting their microphones from the tech at the side of the stairs.

"Hiya, I'm Louis Tomlinson," Louis stepped forward first. "I'll be singing the Bob Dylan song, Make You Feel My Love."

At Simon's nod, the music began, and Louis took a deep breath, before he started to sing, closing his eyes as he put everything he could into it. The other four watched him with proud smiles, and all let out cheers when he finished.

"Thank you," Simon interrupted them. "Next."

"I'm Zayn Malik, I'll be singing Usher's You Make Me Wanna."

"I'm Liam Payne, I'll be singing Stop Crying Your Heart Out, by Oasis."

"Me name's Niall Horan, and I'll be singin' Oasis' Champagne Supernova."

"Hii, I'm Harry Styles, and I'll be singing Summer of '69."

Once all five had finished, they began to file off the stage, as all the other lineups had before.

"Hold on a minute, boys," Nicole said quickly. "Can you just wait for a sec? Thank you."

They looked at each other in confusion as they returned to their previous positions.

"Okay, sorry boys" Nicole gave them a bright smile. "Can we ask a huge favour? Could you possibly try a song together? But not Man in the Mirror. Something else?"

The boys blinked in surprise, and shrugged a little.

"Uh, I guess?" Liam offered. "What do you want us to sing?"

"Whatever you want, honey," Nicole told him with a grin. "We just wanna have a listen. Call it curiosity."

The five boys huddled together, and kept their voices low.

"What the fuck is this all about?" Zayn demanded. "I feel like a fucking puppet right now."

"Dude, me too," Louis huffed. "This is ridiculous. We're not prepared or anything."

"Okay, but how about we just do it," Liam reasoned. "I'm sure we can come up with something, right?"

"Everyone know The Script?" Harry tried. "We could go with Breakeven?"

"Love them, love The Script," Louis grinned. "Saw them last year in Manchester."

"Me too!" Harry gasped.

"Okay, later guys," Niall interrupted. "Obviously I know that song too. How about you boys?" he directed at Zayn and Liam.

"Yeah, yeah, know it," they both agreed.

"Sorted then? Think we can wing it for parts?" Liam asked.

"We should be able to communicate it to each other as we're going," Louis said confidently. "C'mon. Let's smash this."

They turned back to face the judges.

"We're going to sing Breakeven, by The Script," Harry stated firmly.

"Sounds good," Nicole nodded. "Whenever you're ready, boys."

The music started, and the five made sure they could see each other, before Louis began to sing.

" _ I'm still alive, but I'm barely breathing, just praying to a God that I don't believe in, cos I got time, while he got freedom, cos when a heart breaks, no it don't break even _ ," he belted out confidently.

The other four smirked when they heard the pronoun change, and nodded at each other in agreement.

" _ His best days are some of my worst _ ," Niall stepped forward. " _ He finally found a man who's gonna put him first, while I'm wide awake, he's no trouble sleeping, cos when a heart breaks, no it don't break even, even, no _ ."

Harry grinned and took the chorus, tipping his head back as he sung out loudly.

" _ What am I gonna do, when the best part of me was always you? And what am I supposed to say, when I'm all choked up but you're okay? I'm falling to pieces... yeah, I'm falling to pieces... _ "

" _ They say bad things happen for a reason _ ," Zayn sang calmly. " _ But no wise words are gonna stop the bleeding. Cos he's moved on while I'm still grieving, and when a heart breaks, no it don't break even, no. _ "

" _ What am I gonna do, when the best part of me was always you? _ " Liam sang to Zayn as he stepped over next to him. " _ And what am I supposed to say, when I'm all choked up, but you're okay? I'm falling to pieces.. yeah, I'm falling to pieces.. _ "

None of them even glanced at the judges' table, so didn't notice Nicole dancing along, or the thunderous looks that both Louis Walsh and especially Simon were wearing.

They got to the end of the song, and a loud cheer came from behind the judges' table, as the rest of the acts applauded and celebrated their performance. The five blushed and shifted awkwardly, but took a bow, giggling at each other.

"What. Was. That?" Simon demanded, his face bright red with barely concealed anger. "Absolutely  **none** of that can be aired! You are all showing ridiculous levels of unprofessionalism right now, and I have no idea what to say to you!"

"Um, Simon?" Nicole asked, her voice frosty. "Can I ask, please, what exactly about that performance was unprofessional? I actually thought they --"

"I don't pay you to fucking think, Nicole," Simon spat. "Sit your overpriced American ass back down and let the grownups deal with this."

"Excuse me," she hissed. "I am merely asking if you are suggesting that the fact that they used a male pronoun is grounds for unprofessionalism."

"Yes," he declared. "It is. Completely unprofessional."

"And that statement right there, Simon," Nicole pointed at him with a fierce red talon, "that is what is known as homophobia, and that will get your non-existent British ass sued to the heavens and back again, or whatever the fuck it says in those godawful contracts you've made all of these poor people sign."

"How dare you say that to me!" Simon bellowed, a vein on his temple starting to visibly throb. "You are merely STAFF. Which is only a wage step up from where you SHOULD be!"

"Are you actually daring to say that I should be an unpaid slave?" Nicole asked, her voice low and threatening.

"You know what, yes, yes I am," Simon stated firmly. "You and all of your kind, you should be shoved back down where you belong. Under the heel of men who know better, do better, and live better than all of you combined."

A loud collective gasp echoed around the arena, followed by the sound of a few sobs, as the venom that Simon was spewing hit home for quite a few people there. Onstage, Zayn was trembling with a combination of anger, hurt, and fear, while the other four boys surrounded him, trying to lend him their support as best they could.

Behind the judges' table, Louis Walsh had quickly disappeared, and was heard calling for his driver to come and collect him immediately. Nicole was wide-eyed and furious, shaking her head as she gestured to the larger security men she had brought along herself.

"I think it's time this man took a well-earned break," she stated firmly. "Before you end up losing even more of your business and career than you probably already have with this rant."

"You cannot remove me!" Simon railed against the arms that had grasped him securely. "This is my show, this is my company, you are all my employees!"

"See that he's taken to a secure medical facility," Nicole said calmly. "I believe that The X Factor will have a completely different board of judges this year."

"Did that actually just happen?" Liam whispered in disbelief.

"Uh huh," Harry nodded. "I think we just witnessed a murder."

"That was definitely a suicide," Louis stated firmly, then took a small step back when Nicole turned her gaze to them.

"Boys," she started, her voice warm and reassuring. "That performance was amazing. Completely inspiring." She looked at each of them in turn. "Now, I'm going to suggest something that you may not have thought of, but listening to you all, first as individuals, and then as a unified whole - you are most definitely stronger as a team. Would you consider becoming a group? The five of you together? Then I'll move you into the Groups category to go through to Judges' Houses."

They looked at each other, eyes wide in shock. Nicole had been right - this wasn't something they'd thought of. They knew they sounded good together, but to have such a suggestion given to them as an actual possible plan of action for their progression through the competition... they turned to Nicole as one and all nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, please, that'd be amazing!" they all exclaimed in various forms over each other.

"Then, go ahead," she grinned. "Go work out a name, and get to know each other a bit. We'll see you at Judges' Houses in a few weeks!"

Louis couldn't help himself, he practically leapt into Harry's arms, holding him tightly as Harry spun them around, while the other boys clung to each other, babbling excited nonsense.

"Thank you, Nicole!" Harry yelled as he led the way offstage, still holding onto Louis.

The five tumbled down the ramp and flattened Dermot, who was waiting at the bottom, all five piling on top of him.

"Boys, boys, boys!" Dermot protested amidst his own laughter. "C'mon, let me up! This is incredibly undignified!"

"No, undignified is being escorted off to a mental hospital by a couple of bouncers," Louis snickered as he got to his feet, tugging his bandmates - bandmates?? How weird was that to think and say and know?? - up with him.

"Now, now," Dermot gave him a chastising look, which didn't really offer much authority when it was coming from someone still laid out on the floor. "But I may agree a little." He grunted as he jumped up. "I'm not as young as you lads, let's have a bit of consideration for the old folks, yeah?"

"Sorry Dermot," they chorused.

"And that was a little freaky," he told them. "Now then! First act through to Judges' Houses! How does that sound?"

"Pretty damn awesome, if we're honest," Niall beamed. "We're in a fucking band, Derm!"

"You are, and you still can't swear, Niall," Dermot snickered. "But I'll let you off just this once." He looked at Harry. "How does it feel, buddy?"

"I don't think I have any words, if you want the truth," Harry chuckled, his eyes looking like actual stars. "It just feels like everything's coming together, y'know? Like... destiny or something?"

"I get that, I get that," Louis nodded enthusiastically. "Feels just like that, yep."

"Now that we're here, I don't think I can even imagine being here without these boys," Zayn put in. "Like Haz says, it's a bit like destiny, or fate, or karma. Y'know?"

"I always thought I was a soloist," Liam said. "But being around these boys, singing with them, hanging out, just learning about each other, and knowing that we sound pretty amazing together - it's made me realise that being on my own isn't necessarily the only way. I can't wait to see what happens next."

"Now you just gotta come up with a name," Dermot said seriously. "That's a pivotal part of the making of every band."

"I've already thought of that!" Harry piped up. "It'll sound amazing when the announcer dude says it, and it explains our orientations... which are definitely not straight, FYI."

"We've not heard this name, by the way," Louis put in quickly. "So if it's shit, there is a chance that it may change. But we can't guarantee anything."

"Go ahead then, Styles," Zayn nudged him gently. "Spit it out."

Harry made a show of clearing his throat, and drawing himself up to his greatest height.

"One Direction!" he boomed in a fair imitation of Peter Dickson.

"Ooh, I like that," Liam immediately agreed.

"It's definitely got impact," Dermot nodded. "We'll put it through to the production company, get them to check that no one else has it, then we should be able to give you the go ahead."

"We'll get that sorted ourselves, thanks, Dermot," Harry said quickly. "My stepdad knows stuff like that. But thank you."

"Not a problem lads," Dermot replied easily. He grinned around at the new band. "I reckon you lot are gonna be amazing. Congratulations." He paused while the cameras and sound equipment was turned off, before he spoke again. "I think it's gonna be an interesting few weeks before Judges' Houses. Nicole has been working since Manchester for this to happen - she heard some things that day that she didn't like, she looked into it, she liked it even less, and she took steps to change it."

"A coup?" Louis asked, with raised eyebrows.

"Exactly that," Dermot nodded. "I was aware that something was going to happen - she gave me a heads up first thing - but I didn't know exactly what was going to go down, so all of that," he gestured to the other side of the stage, "that was as much of a surprise to me, as it was to you."

"What about Louis?" Niall asked. "He disappeared when Simon and Nicole were having it out."

"Yeah, I don't think we'll be seeing him again," Dermot shook his head. "He was only ever here when the going was good with Simon. He's hidden behind his skirt for many years. He's probably most like the rats, fleeing a sinking ship... but I think that's an insult to rats, if I'm honest."

The boys let out low snickers.

"But you think it'll all still go ahead?" Liam asked, looking a little concerned.

"Oh yeah, most definitely," Dermot nodded quickly. "Nicole's got everything lined up. There'll be new judges, new houses, a whole new setup."

"And production are on board?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "And are they still going to want me to be a womaniser or whatever the hell it was that one of them tried wrangling me into the other day?"

"That's all gone," Dermot assured him. "You're all going to be free to be yourselves."

"That sounds fake, but okay," Zayn muttered sceptically.

"We can work that out when we get to it," Louis reasoned. "For now, I'm guessing... we go home?"

"Yeah, buddy," Dermot agreed. "Someone from production will be in contact with you, hopefully by next week, to let you know when we'll be doing the Judges' Houses for the Groups."

"Thanks Dermot," Harry gave him a small smile, then followed the rest of them around to the backstage area.

"Okay, so we should probably meet up before Judges' Houses, right?" Liam immediately asked, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "We'll have to work together a bit more so we're more comfortable in our voices and abilities."

"Slow down, Payno," Niall interjected. "How about we go with, we should get to know each other a bit more first?"

"Sounds good to me," Zayn shrugged. "Not sure where would be best though?"

"My stepdad has a bungalow we could probably use," Harry said slowly, absently scratching at his left arm. "It has a pool. And it's like, on the outskirts of my village. So it's quiet?"

"Sounds good, Curly," Louis grinned. "When do you want us?"

After a bit of negotiating on times and dates, they all began to make their way towards the exit, not really caring about sticking around to find out who else got through, or who was cut. Outside, all five of their mums were waiting together, holding hands in solidarity and support. They waited patiently for the boys to get to them, looking at all of them expectantly.

"So?" Jay broke the silence first. "How did you get on?"

"Well," Louis sighed. "We didn't get through as soloists - apparently our voices aren't strong enough or right or insert inane reason here."

"But you're still looking happy," Trisha said suspiciously, eyeing Zayn. "What gives?"

"We got put into a group?" Zayn tried.

"So we're all going through," Liam added.

"Pretty awesome, huh?" Niall beamed.

Karen Payne immediately burst into tears and grabbed her son into a tight hug, before each of the mums followed suit, hugging the boys firmly, and murmuring words of praise and pride.

"So, have you come up with a name or anything yet?" Anne asked, wiping her cheeks quickly.

"Yeah, actually we have, or rather, Harry did," Louis grinned.

The five exchanged looks, then nodded, before all speaking in unison.

"Hi, we're One Direction!"

~~~~

_ 800AD, Norway, Viking Age _

"Leif!" his father's voice boomed through the house. "You are to order the Thralls to be beheaded immediately! They have stolen from me for the last time!"

"No, Father," Leif sighed tiredly. "No one has stolen from you. Please, just get back into bed. The healer will be here soon, I promise."

"I don't need a healer! I need those Thralls slaughtered!" his father protested.

Leif just nodded and helped his father climb back into bed, before he left the room to pace in front of the fire in the kitchen. The disease in his father's brain was getting worse, and Leif was unsure of how much longer he would survive. Once his father's healer was here, he was certain that it would be recommended that he be removed to the hills, where a sanctuary was located for those with such problems. While he was loath to agree, Leif knew it would be the best for his father - and for the estate.

The Thralls were nervy and twitchy, his father's threats of death reaching them, no matter how hard he tried to keep it quiet. There hadn't been a decline in the quality of their work - the place was still clean and tidy, the food was still delicious - but he hated how they scuttled away from him whenever he approached, instead of talking like they used to.

Plus, his father's departure would mean that Leif would finally be able to move Haraldur in. He missed his lover, having been caught up with looking after his father for the past week and a half, while Haraldur led another mission to gain lands for their people. Leif rubbed at his cock, which was stiffening up at the mere thought of Haraldur. One of the newer Thralls to the household stopped alongside him.

"Is there anything I can help you with, sir?" he murmured, in what he probably thought was a sultry tone.

"Get back to work," Leif commanded absently. "You cannot help with this." He crossed to the window that looked out over the grounds to the front gate. "Only one can, and he's far away right now."

_ A week later _

Leif dropped into the chair behind his father's old desk and sighed heavily, rubbing at his face.

"Long day, love?" a voice rumbled from the door.

Leif looked up quickly, a bright smile spreading over his face as he recognised Haraldur standing there, familiar smirk on his face.

"Fuck, I missed you," he blurted out, jumping to his feet and crossing the room quickly, throwing himself up into Haraldur's arms and kissing him hard.

"Mm, I missed you too," Haraldur murmured, kissing him back just as desperately. "Needed you so badly after I’ve been on a raid with the boys. Wanted to sink my cock into your ass to celebrate every single one."

Leif let out a low groan.

"Sure you wouldn't want me to fuck into you instead?" he asked, biting gently at Haraldur's throat, causing him to hiss softly.

"You know I'm always willing to do that, too," he muttered. "But right now, I need to feel you around me. It's been too long. And I heard as I was coming through the village that your father was moved, that you're the Master here now."

"That's right," Leif replied, helping to divest them both of their clothing. "I'm in charge. The land is mine. You should obey me."

"I probably should," Haraldur agreed easily, slipping a hand between his lover's legs and rubbing at his tight dry hole. "But you and I both know that this is more likely going to happen the way I want it right now, and you're probably going to be desperate for every single move I make."

“That is not the case at all,” Leif tried to protest, but felt his body arch up towards Haraldur’s touch, desperate for more.

“Your words are saying something rather different to your actions, lover,” Haraldur teased, pulling away from him slowly and chuckling lowly at the protesting whimper that his moving caused. “I need some oil, darling. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Hurry up, please,” Leif begged, throwing the rest of his clothes to the floor, and stretching back out over the desk, spreading his legs and resting his heels on the edge. “Fuck me already.”

“So impatient,” Haraldur teased, but dropped his clothes as he slicked his fingers with the oil. “I’m right here, love. I’ll take care of you, I promise.”

He returned to Leif’s side, slipping between his legs and gently rubbing his slick fingers over Leif’s tight rim, slowly starting to ease his fingertip inside.

“That’s enough, that’s enough,” Leif pleaded. “Please, I just want you inside me, please, I’ve missed you so much.”

“Shh,” Haraldur leaned over, pressing a tender kiss to Leif’s forehead. “It’s okay, darling. Let me take care of you. I’m not going to hurt you - it’s been a while.”

“H, please, just fucking get inside,” Leif demanded in a growl. “I need you and that’s all I can really fucking focus on right now. So either put your cock in my ass, or I’ll take over and have you bent over the fucking chair in the next ten seconds.”

Before the last word was completely out, he groaned deeply as Haraldur pushed two fingers deep inside his ass, immediately locating that magical spot that made him see stars and rubbing firmly.

“I said I’ll look after you,” Haraldur rumbled at him, methodically preparing Leif’s ass thoroughly, stretching him open wide for Haraldur’s cock. “And I always keep my promises, my love. Especially when it comes to you.” He leaned down, kissing Leif again tenderly, as he lined his cock up and pushed in carefully. “I love you so much,” he added in a whisper.

“I love you too,” Leif gasped out, clinging desperately to Haraldur as he began to thrust firmly. “Oh love, I missed you so much. You’re my whole damn world.”

“And you mine,” Haraldur smiled softly, holding him gently as they made love.

~~~~

_ 31st July 2010, Holmes Chapel, UK _

“Mum, did you remember the extra pillows?” Harry bellowed from the living room of the bungalow.

“They’re in the cupboard on the landing, like I told you ten minutes ago,” Anne replied, patiently. “The larder is full, the fridge is full, the freezer is full, there are extra towels and sheets with the pillows. You’re all going to be fine.” She crossed to him, resting her hands on his shoulders. “And if not, you have my number, you have Robin’s number, and if you don’t want to bother us stuffy adults, you have Gemma’s number.”

“Like she’d be any help,” Harry grumped quietly. “She’s been awful this past week.”

“Yes, well, when you go getting tattoos without permission, when she’s been told explicitly that she can’t have them, it would cause a bit of friction, wouldn’t it?” Anne looked at him with slight disapproval.

“I’ve already told you a hundred times,” Harry sighed. “I didn’t get this tattooed. It just appeared. After a whole lot of itching.”

“Sweetheart, you know how hard that is to believe?” Anne said, for probably the one hundred and first time that week.

“Oh, I’m well aware,” he huffed. “And I’m sorry. Again.” He glanced at the clock. “They’ll be here soon. Oh god, what if they don’t like it, Mum? What if they don’t like me?”

“Calm down, sweetie,” she reassured him. “I promise you, it’s all going to be fine.” She pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “You’re all going to have a wonderful time, getting to know each other, and when Nicole contacts you all, you’re going to be amazing at Judges’ Houses, and we’ll all be coming down to London every weekend.”

“Let’s not get carried away,” Harry mumbled, leaning against his Mum. “But I really hope this goes well. I never thought about being part of a boyband, but this is going to be epic. We sound so good already.”

Before Anne could reply, the doorbell went.

“Go on then,” she encouraged him. “It’s not nice to leave your guests waiting on the doorstep.”

“I think it’s Louis,” Harry said with a soft smile, starting to cross the living room to answer it. “In fact, I’m pretty sure it is.”

He jogged the last few steps and threw open the door, grinning when he saw Louis standing there, backpack slung over one shoulder, carrier bag in his hand, while the other waved to a car behind him.

“See you in a week or so, Mum,” he called. “Love you!”

“Ooh, is that Jay?” Anne asked, pushing past both boys and hurrying down the path. “Jay! Do you fancy a cuppa before you head back home?”

Louis shook his head, watching their mothers reunite, before he looked at Harry.“

“Hey you,” he said softly.

“Hi Lou,” Harry replied shyly, before he reached out to grab the carrier bag. “C’mon in. You’re the first to arrive.”

“Oh good, my master plan of telling the other three to be here over an hour later than you said worked,” Louis admitted with a grin. “Wanted to spend a bit of time just us first, if that’s okay with you?”

Harry looked at him quickly, nearly dropping the bag and only just missing the wall as he turned abruptly.

“Y-yeah, I mean, uh, you wanted that?” He stammered. “Cos, I mean, I, uh...”

“Calm down, Haz,” Louis said softly. “Yes, I meant it. I thought it’d be nice to get to know you a little better, one on one.”

“Okay, yes, that’s good,” Harry agreed. “Um, where did you want to sleep? There’s the sofa bed in the lounge, and an air bed alongside - so three can sleep there, and then there’s a double bed in the bedroom.”

“We’ve shared before, so how about we do the bed?” Louis suggested. “Leave the other three to argue out the sleeping arrangements in the lounge between them.”

“Okay,” Harry nodded, uncertain, but led the way down the small hallway to the bedroom, pointing out the bathroom on the way. “It’s not much - Robin was living here on his own before he moved in with us - but it’s a nice retreat.”

“I really like it,” Louis smiled, dropping his backpack to the floor. “Feels nice. Welcoming.”

“That’s good.”

“Hey, did you get a tattoo?” Louis asked suddenly, reaching for Harry’s arm.

“No, I didn’t, it just appeared,” Harry protested. “But no one wants to believe me, they keep thinking I managed to convince a tattooist that I’m 18. Look at me, Louis. They’d have to be bloody blind to think I’m 18!”

Louis couldn’t help but snort at the indignant outrage on Harry’s face, but he had to agree - there was no way that Harry looked anything remotely resembling 18. But he knew what the small ‘Hi’ that was branded onto Harry’s arm actually was - the first of their soulmarks had fully formed the day after they’d gotten home from Wembley. His own matching ‘oops!’ was there for all to see, just below the crook of his right elbow, and like Harry, he’d gotten a lot of grief from his family over having gotten inked, when he’d always been adamantly against it.

As he looked at Harry though, he knew he had to say something. He took a deep breath.

“Harry,” he started, but looked around with a frown when the doorbell went. “Who’s that?”

“I dunno,” Harry said quickly. “I’m only expecting you guys. Maybe someone else is early?”

“Oh for fuck sake,” Louis sighed when the bell went again. “Go get it, love. We’ll talk later.”

Harry reluctantly made his way to the door, raising an eyebrow as he tugged it open.

"Hi, am I late?" Liam asked, looking nervous on the doorstep.

"Not at all," Harry gave him a smile. "You're early, in fact. Only Lou's here." He peeped over Liam's shoulder. "Did your mum drop you off?"

"Yeah, she's in the car," Liam nodded, then turned to wave at her.

"She can go to my house if she wants," Harry said quickly. "That's where mine and Louis' mums are. I'm sure they'll all have a gossip and a cuppa."

"Oh," Liam beamed. "I'll go tell her quickly."

Harry nodded and left the door open for Liam, returning to the living room and Louis, who had flopped onto the sofa to watch the television.

"Leemo here?" he asked, looking up at Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"Mmhmm," Harry agreed. "Was worried he'd be late."

"So he was here over an hour earlier than I told him," Louis rolled his eyes playfully. "I'll have to keep that in mind for the future."

"What did you wanna talk about?" Harry asked curiously. "Liam's just gone to talk to his mum."

"It's about your tattoo, actually," Louis started.

"Louuu," Harry whined in protest. "I told you, it's not a tattoo, I didn't get it done!"

"I know, I know," Louis said quickly, as he pushed his sleeve up. "I didn't get this tattooed either," he added, pointing at the 'oops!' on his arm.

Harry stared at the black letters, his eyes widening slowly. He opened his mouth to respond, but the sound of the front door shutting made him jump, as Louis tugged his sleeve back down quickly, and Liam appeared in the doorway.

"I left Mum chatting to Ms Cox on the phone," Liam explained. "I think she was getting directions or something. Hi, Louis."

"Lima, how's it going, mate?" Louis nodded at him.

"Uh, yeah, I'm a little worried about, like, everything," Liam said slowly. "But I think it's going to be good. Eventually. Although," he started to frown, "I'm not sure what's going to happen without Simon in control. Is there still a recording contract at the end of this? Has Nicole even thought about this properly? What if the ratings drop? What if ITV don't wanna show it without Simon?"

"I'm not sure that's something we need to worry about," Harry pointed at the TV, where an extravagant X Factor advert was playing. "They must know by now that there's something not quite right in the X Factor camp - and didn't Dermot say that Nicole had been planning this since Manchester? She must have gotten the production team on board first."

"Fully agree, lad," Louis nodded. "I think this can only be a good thing - I think X Factor's going to be a whole lot different this year. For the better, too."

"I hope so," Liam fretted, sitting down on the edge of the sofa. "I don't know that I want to try again."

"You're only sixteen, kid," Louis raised an eyebrow. "It's not like it's the end of it if you don't make it this year."

"Maybe not, but this is my second stab at a reality talent show, isn't it?" Liam sighed heavily. "It's not like it made me a popular person, either."

Harry and Louis exchanged confused frowns, but were prevented from asking anything by the chiming of the doorbell.

"Haz, you're gonna have to just wait by the door, that bell's fucking annoying," Louis told him.

"Robin thought it was funny to have it playing Greensleeves," Harry rolled his eyes, as he stood and walked towards the door. "He's barely here so it doesn't get used much."

He opened the door to find both Niall and Zayn on the doorstep, the latter rubbing at his eyes as though he'd just woken up.

"Hazza!" Niall greeted him cheerfully. "Excellent place you got here, mate! Love it!" He pushed his way past Harry and into the living room. "Wahey lads!"

"Hiya Zayn," Harry chuckled softly. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just knackered," Zayn sighed, then turned to wave at his mum. "Mum dragged me out of bed way too early. Again."

"Is Niall's mum here too?"

"Nah, we picked him up from the airport," Zayn told him. "Why?"

"Cos the mums are meeting at my house, Mum's putting on tea and cakes," Harry explained quickly.

"Oh, I'll go tell Mum," Zayn dropped his bags and turned back to the car, returning less than a minute later. "Louis' mum had already texted her, she's on her way there now."

Harry grinned and waved to Trisha as she pulled away, before he bent down to help Zayn with his bags.

"Welcome to the Bungalow," he chuckled. "C'mon in. Everyone's here now."

"Excellent, I hope there's a comfy bed?"Zayn asked hopefully.

"You, Liam, and Niall are in the living room," Harry told him, sounding a little apologetic. "Lou got here first, and decided that cos we'd shared before, we'd get the bed in the master."

"Typical," Zayn snickered. "That's fine. I can sleep pretty much anywhere anyway." He stopped in the living room, looking around at the others. "Morning, guys."

"So, FIFA first?" Louis suggested. "Looks like Haz has got us all hooked up with the good stuff, so we may as well take advantage, right?"

"Uh, it's last year's FIFA, I'm afraid," Harry blushed slightly, trying to play it off lightly. "I don't play it that much, so didn't really see the point in getting the updated one."

Louis glanced at Harry, seeing the embarrassment there, and deliberately ignored the high scores on the screen as he tapped the controller to start a new game.

"Not a problem, love," he reassured him. "As long as I can send little computer generated men running around a field after a pretend ball, I'm happy. It's better than the original, after all."

Harry gave him a shy smile, then looked at the others.

"Drinks? Snacks?" he offered. "I have... everything, I think?"

"I stopped off in the duty free," Niall put in, grabbing one of his bags. "Managed to get a couple bottles of the decent stuff."

"How the hell did you pass for 18, Irish?" Louis asked in disbelief.

"You look younger than Harry!" Liam exclaimed.

"It's a gift," Niall shrugged a shoulder, before he burst into a cackle. "Nah, I got my mate to grab them for us. He was heading down to London, so he just told me to be responsible, but meh," he shrugged again. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"You came over with a mate?" Zayn raised an eyebrow.

"Well, kinda?" Niall hedged. "He's in the industry, but he's from my town. Da had a word when I got home last week, and Bressie agreed to accompany me over and back. Felt a little starstruck, if I'm honest. He's pretty big in Ireland."

"Bressie?" Harry looked confused.

"Niall Breslin," Niall nodded. "But obviously, two Nialls gets confusing, so he's Bressie. He's gonna introduce me to a load of our fellow country people when we get to London."

"You're confident that we're gonna get through Judges' Houses, then?" Louis asked in amusement.

"Oh, definitely," Niall agreed enthusiastically. "We're shithot and we're gonna ace this shit. I don't think Nic would've put us together and through if she didn't think we were worth it. Besides, I was listening to the other groups, and they were utter shite."

"Do we really have the right to say that though?" Harry looked uncertain. "I mean, we're newbies, as a group."

"I still got a pair of working ears, Haz, and I can assure you, they were fucking shite," Niall insisted. "They were flat, out of sync, some of them didn't even know the damn lyrics. It was appalling, I swear."

"Y'know, I'm not sure I understood that last part," Louis tilted his head to one side, looking at Niall quizzically. "Was that even English?"

"Ahh, feck off," Niall flapped a hand at Louis. "You're a dickhead n'all."

"I understood him," Liam said quietly to Zayn. "Should we be worried that Louis' got trouble understanding Niall?"

"He was taking the piss," Zayn replied patiently. "Cos Niall's accent got so thick. Don't worry, babe. It'll all be cool."

They all settled down, playing FIFA and trash talking each other through the game, throwing popcorn at each other whenever someone said something a little too inappropriate. Every now and then, Liam would start to suggest that they at least attempted to sing something, but was always quickly shut down, whether by an item of food thrown at his head, or one of the others tumbled onto him and made him giggle instead.

As the sun began to set, the boys started to make noises about their stomachs needing feeding, and Harry let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm guessing it's down to me?" he asked, raising a sassy eyebrow.

"You  _ are _ the host, love," Louis pointed out, before giving him a sweet smile.

"You are so fucking lucky," Harry muttered. "Pizza? Or do you want me to actually cook?"

"Pizza!" Niall immediately yelled. "I'm in for pizza!"

"No pork on mine," Zayn said quickly. "Not allowed it. Religion."

"Not a problem, I have some four cheeses with stuffed crust, and a chicken and peppers?" Harry offered.

"Do ‘em both," Zayn grinned. "Sounds perfect."

"Pizza sounds awesome, love," Louis agreed. "As long as you don't put any bloody pineapple on it. That literally flies in the face of all that's pure and wholesome in the world."

"I think that may be a slight exaggeration," Liam rolled his eyes. "But pizza is definitely good. Especially if you have garlic bread and chips available as well."

"Chain me to the sodding oven, I'll stay out there all barefoot," Harry muttered, making his way into the kitchen.

"What was that supposed to mean?" Liam raised an eyebrow.

"I think young Harold was making reference to the whole keeping of a woman barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, while the man of the house did everything 'important'," Louis snickered. "I'll go talk to him."

He hopped to his feet and slipped out into the kitchen.

"Hey."

"Hey, Lou," Harry gave him a quick smile.

"You okay?" Louis asked carefully. "You seemed a bit miffed at doing the food - I know, it's cos it was assumed that you were doing it, and that was really wrong of us all. But you were a little moodier than normal. The barefoot and pregnant thing?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," Harry sighed. "I don't mind, honestly. I'm just not used to being the host here. It's Robin's place, y'know?"

Louis nodded slowly and leaned against the counter.

"So, he and your mum, they're married?" he asked, curiously.

"Not yet," Harry shook his head, pottering about and turning the oven on, before he pulled the pizzas from the fridge. "He's proposed a few times, but she's not sure about accepting. I think she's still worried about me and Gem, even though we've both told her a thousand times that we love Robin, and he makes her happy. She'll get there though. And it'll be worth it when she does." He glanced over at Louis. "Anyway, you wanted to talk?"

Louis blinked once, then straightened up slightly.

"Oh! Yes!" he exclaimed. "Your... word." Louis looked a little awkward, not wanting to call it a tattoo when Harry had gotten so indignant over it earlier. "I have one too."

"Yeah, I caught a glimpse of it before Liam appeared," Harry replied. "Oops?"

"I, uh, I have a bit of a theory?"

"Go ahead, I'm open to anything."

"Well, they were the first words we said to each other," Louis said quickly. "You said oops..."

"When I peed on you," Harry realised slowly. "Shit. And you replied all calm and zen-like with just a hi. Lou. This is ridiculous, you know that?"

"I know," Louis agreed. "But hear me out, there's a bit more. And this is going to take a little more patience. Please."

"Fire away, it can't be as weird as our first words to each other appearing as tattoos," Harry snorted softly.

Five minutes later he stood corrected, mouth agape and pizzas forgotten as he stared at Louis.

"Soulmates?" he eventually managed to get out.

"Yeah?" Louis said, uncertain. "I mean. It's a bit out there, I know. But. I swear, I can remember stuff from centuries ago. It's a bit of a trip at times, especially when I get a sudden vivid memory flash up."

"Is that why you occasionally get that glazed look in your eyes?" Harry asked slowly. "Like you're a thousand miles away."

"Probably," Louis nodded. "It's a bit of a strange sensation, remembering something that you didn't do with the body you're currently in. A bit dissociative at times."

"I'm sorry," Harry apologised quickly. "I wish it could've happened to me too."

"Well, the last couple of incarnations of us, they got close enough that they were connected in every way possible," Louis explained. "So it meant that they eventually both knew about everything." He gave Harry a small smile. "Made the burden far easier to bear." He sighed softly. "But that's why I actually passed out in Manchester," he added. "Because of the memories filling my head all in one go. I'm not sure how they all sorted themselves out to be honest."

"There's a logical order to them somewhere, so they've organised themselves properly," Harry nodded firmly.

"You seem to understand it better than me," Louis shrugged and chuckled. "All I know is that occasionally a memory will suddenly come on really strong, and it's like I'm back there - whenever it is."

Harry settled back against the sink.

"So, when did we live?" he asked, his eyes alight with interest and curiosity.

"Many, many different times," Louis smiled. "Ancient Egypt, the Tudor period, we were in Pompeii, we were on opposing sides of the Scottish and English battles in the 18th Century." Louis smiled a little sadly. "And we were in 60s London. That was the last one before now."

"The 60s?" Harry stared, his eyes wide. "That recent? But, surely we'd still be alive? I mean...?"

"Our stories haven't ever ended particularly well," Louis said gently. "I think that's partly why we keep coming back. It's like, we keep trying to get it right?"

"We, we keep dying?" Harry suddenly looked emotional and on the verge of tears. "That's awful. What if we don't get it right this time? Do you think we'll come back again?"

"I don't know, darling," Louis sighed, the pet name slipping out without him noticing. "I just think we need to make the most of what we have, and hope for the best." He gave Harry a reassuring look. "But hey, we'll be okay. We'll be together, I promise."

Harry nodded slowly, before he got a determined look on his face.

"Same sex marriage is on its way to being fully legalised here," he declared. "We're living in a completely different time to our previous lives. I think it's going to be different this time."

"I hope so," Louis smiled. "I think we deserve it." He glanced back towards the living room. "But for now, I think we should get back to the lads, before they start wondering where we are."

"The pizzas are ready," Harry agreed. "I'll just cut them up and stick them on a plate."

Louis stepped up to help, grabbing the plates from the cupboard and setting them on the side, while Harry pulled the pizzas from the oven. They moved around each other easily, like a fluid dance, always aware of where the other was, without really looking. Within minutes, they were back with the other boys, setting the plates on the coffee table.

"Get it while it's hot," Harry told them.

"Thought you two had gotten lost," Niall observed, leaning over to grab a slice and dangling it straight into his mouth.

"That's a bit of an exaggeration," Liam said quickly. "We were just hoping you weren't having an argument or anything."

"Nah, no arguments here, Payno," Louis reassured him with a grin. "Just chatting some shit, putting the world to rights, all of that."

"The pizza's good," Zayn told Harry. "Thanks, mate."

"They're just cheap ones from Sainsbury's," Harry shrugged, blushing a little. "Mum got them cos they were on offer."

"Who cares? It's food, and it's good, and it's filling," Louis insisted. "So thank you."

Harry blushed some more and hid a smile in his shoulder.

"I'm really worried about when we're going to hear from Nicole," Liam said out of nowhere.

"Oh for fuck sake!" Niall threw a cushion from behind him at Liam's head, while the others laughed. "It's gonna be fine, Payno!"

"Try not to stress, babe," Zayn told him. "It's gonna be fine. Have faith, and all that good shit."

"I just don't get how you're all so calm about it," Liam huffed. "Don't you think it's a little concerning? Plus, there's barely been anything in the news about it. Only that Simon's had to pull out due to ill health. And they've blamed Dannii and Cheryl's absences on continued illness for Cheryl, and a desire to remain an at-home mum for Dannii. I don't think I've seen anything about Louis Walsh at all."

"There's a surprise," Louis snorted. "The bloke scuttled out like the little weasel he is. I wouldn't be surprised if he's been sucking up to Nicole to try and get his job back." He paused slightly at the look of dismay on Liam's face. "Mate, I'm sorry to burst your bubble about the dude, but I've seen people like him before. He's a sycophant. He was so far up Simon's ass, I'm surprised he could draw breath at all. It's the furthest thing from a shock to me that as soon as Simon's star has started to flicker out, he's disappeared into the ether. If he doesn't try and reappear this year, then give it a couple years, and he'll be back, sniffing around someone else."

Niall nodded in agreement.

"No one at home has anything nice to say about him," he offered. "There's an awful lot of folk who hate that he's the example for Irish music, cos he's far from indicative of any attitudes or opinions that anyone else in Ireland has."

"Oh," Liam mumbled. "I feel so stupid."

"Don't be," Harry said quickly. "I didn't know any of this stuff either. I thought they were all reputable and stuff. What happened with Simon was a huge shock." He shrugged a shoulder. "Simon was the whole reason I auditioned. I just wanted his opinion on my voice, and whether there was any point pursuing anything in the industry with it." He looked around at the others with a smile. "I'm pretty damn glad I went along though. Cos I'm proud as fuck to be in a band with you all."

"You utter sap," Louis told him affectionately.

"No, no, I agree with Harry," Liam said quickly. "I think being in a band wasn't something I'd ever considered before. But you're brilliant lads, and I'm happy to be here." He paused for a moment, biting his bottom lip. "I wish I'd known you a year ago, if I'm honest."

"Why's that?" Zayn asked, frowning slightly as he looked around, all of them already prepared to defend Liam from whatever harm had been caused.

"Uh, well," Liam cleared his throat. "It sounds a bit pathetic, but I'm sure me mum's already spilled it to your parents." He sighed heavily. "I'm not exactly a popular person, back home. I missed a lot of school when I was a kid - I've only got one kidney, there were problems with the other from when I was a baby, and the doctors reckon I'll never be able to drink much alcohol."

"There go all the plans I had for a wild bender tomorrow night," Harry sighed, then grinned. "I'm kidding. Sorry, go on."

"Sorry, Haz," Liam smiled. "So I didn't make friends very easily at school. When I was given the all-clear to attend school properly, with no hospital appointments, I was a bit chubby from staying home so much. So I started running a lot, did a lot of cross country, then circuit stuff, and I got pretty good. I was actually invited to try for the Olympic team for 2012."

"Holy shit, that's sick," Zayn exclaimed. "How did you do?"

"Well, uh," Liam blushed, looking pleased at the attention. "I've been put on the reserves list? So, like, if anyone drops out, they'll call on me, I guess."

"That's amazing, Leemo," Louis grinned. "Our own little Olympian. How awesome is that?"

"It's not too bad," Liam shrugged a shoulder modestly. "But after I was on the X Factor the year before last, people were a bit, I dunno, nastier, I guess? It wasn't anything blatant, just comments when I walk past them in school, people accusing me of thinking I'm better than I actually am." He sighed heavily. "Then my mum decided to throw me a birthday party for my 16th last year. I asked her not to, but she didn't listen. My best friend, Andy, was actually on holiday, so he couldn't come." Liam looked at the floor, not wanting to see any of their immediate reactions, before he murmured the rest. "So no one came. It was just me, and my sisters, and my parents. In a sodding great hall that my mum had booked up."

"Wait, so none of your schoolmates came?" Harry looked genuinely confused. "None of them?"

"Wanna rub it in a bit more?" Liam asked wryly. "No, none of them."

"What absolute fucktards," Louis declared. "They clearly know absolutely fuck all about anything remotely resembling a good person, or they'd all have been there. I know if I'd known you back then, I'd definitely have been there." He gave Liam a reassuring nod. "Their loss is our amazing gain, so fuck em. Fuck the lot of em."

Zayn crawled over to Liam's side, pressing carefully against him in a side hug.

"They don't deserve your friendship anyway," he said gently. "I'm selfishly a bit glad they didn't show though, cos else you might not have been here. And I'm very glad you are."

"Wouldn't have been the same without ya, Payno," Niall stated enthusiastically.

"We should totally have a birthday party tomorrow," Harry suddenly suggested. "I can bake a cake! I'm a baker, y'know."

"Does a Saturday job behind the counter class as being a baker now?" Louis raised an eyebrow.

"I said what I said," Harry huffed. "I'm perfectly capable of throwing together a cake though."

"Please don't throw it," Liam looked a little alarmed. "But a cake would be nice. It's my birthday in a month's time." He paused then gave a cheeky smile. "Does that mean I'd get another for my actual birthday?"

"I'm sure I can arrange something," Harry assured him, pointedly ignoring Louis' muttered comments about the authenticity of his claim to bakerhood. "I'll text Mum a sec, ask her to bring some ingredients around. It'll be amazing."

"Are we gonna finish this FIFA tourney tonight?" Niall put in, before any further discussion could start. "Or should I just turn it off until tomorrow?"

"Alright, impatience," Louis huffed. "We're paying attention again. I can't believe you're so desperate to have your ass handed to you, to be honest."

"That there's fighting words," Niall eyed Louis. "You sure you can handle the competition?"

"Born ready, mate," Louis nodded. "Born ready."

~~~~

They had been at the bungalow for a couple of days when they eventually heard from the production team of the X Factor.

"Hello?" Louis answered his phone, frowning at the unrecognised number. "Can I help you?"

"Hi, is that Louis Tomlinson?"

"Who's asking?"

"It's Amy, from the X Factor?" came the reply. "I have you down as the main contact for your group, One Direction. Is that correct?"

"Yeah, we're all here actually," Louis said, putting his phone on speaker and gesturing for the others to gather around. "What's up, Amy?"

"I'm just calling to inform you all of what's going to happen with the show this year," Amy explained. "As I'm sure you're already aware, Simon Cowell will not be leading the show this year, while he deals with some personal problems. Louis Walsh, Cheryl Cole, and Dannii Minogue have all decided not to continue with their positions on the panel as well." She cleared her throat a little, obviously reading what she had to say from a script. "The lead judge will be Nicole Scherzinger, and she will be accompanied by Danny O'Donoghue, Lily Allen, and Chris Martin. You will all need to be at Manchester Airport next Saturday, the 7th of August, where you will be met by a camera crew, the rest of the groups, and then you will be given your tickets to the destination of your Judge's House. Obviously, I cannot tell you where you will be going, or which judge you have, but I strongly suggest you pack for warmer weather."

"So we're going somewhere hot?" Harry asked quickly.

"I can neither confirm nor deny," Amy sighed. "Once you are at your destination, you will be met by production staff who will explain things further to you. Do you have any questions?"

"This is definitely all going ahead, then?" Liam checked. "I mean, there's been nothing in the news about Simon at all. It's a bit bizarre."

"Please try not to worry, Liam. Ms Scherzinger has everything fully under control, and has the full support of the production company," Amy told him reassuringly. "This year's show is looking to be even better than previous years, and we hope that the acts are just as happy as we are with it."

"Have any changes been made to what happens at the end?" Zayn asked, raising an eyebrow at the phone. "I mean, like... is there still a recording contract available? And management?"

"Ms Scherzinger has everything lined up for the winner," Amy said firmly. "However, I can inform you that it is not the same deal as was originally agreed out at the beginning of production of this series. The winner will not get a contract from Syco, and will not be signed with Modest! Management. Alternatives have been sourced by Ms Scherzinger herself."

"That's interesting," Louis commented. "Oh, one other thing. Has there been any instruction from Ms Scherzinger about how we hold ourselves? Our manner? Anything like that?"

"I have nothing in front of me, but I can get Ms Scherzinger to check her notes and contact you directly?" Amy suggested. "She has been doing that with a few of the artists, just to offer her reassurance and advice on how to proceed through this situation."

"That would be brilliant, thank you," Harry said. "A special thank you to you, Amy. You've been brilliant with all of us, and we really do appreciate it."

"That's lovely to hear," Amy replied. "Thank you for that. I'll see you all soon, boys. Stay safe!"

Louis picked his phone up as it beeped to signify that Amy had hung up.

"Well, that's a little bit interesting, right?" he offered, looking around at the others.

"Did she say... Danny O'Donoghue?" Harry asked, a little stunned as it finally registered what Amy had said.

"Yeah, who's that?" Liam frowned, wincing when Niall punched him on the arm.

"How dare you," the Irishman hissed.

"He's the lead singer of The Script," Louis said quickly.

"Louis and I both saw them in Manchester last year," Harry added, his voice coloured with awe. "We never discussed that, by the way. But they were amazing. I loved every second of it."

"They were, most definitely," Louis nodded.

"Okay, we've established that it was a good gig," Zayn rolled his eyes playfully. "Who else did Amy say? Lily Allen, and who?"

"Chris Martin," Niall provided. "Coldplay. Amazing, brilliant band. I'm so made up about this."

"Chris Martin is amazing," Harry sighed. "I have a poster of him on my wall. Right next to Legolas."

"Orlando Bloom, good choice," Louis nodded in approval. "I've got Beckham, obviously."

"Anyway, posters aside," Liam interrupted the conversation. "Where do we think we're going to end up going?"

"Somewhere warm, apparently," Niall sighed. "So I'm gonna burn my ass off. This fair porcelain Irish skin is not made for sunshine."

"And we have to meet at the airport?" Zayn chewed on his lip nervously. "I've never flown before."

"You've got a passport though, right bro?" Louis asked, looking a little concerned suddenly.

"Yeah, yeah," Zayn said quickly. "Mum made sure I got one when I got through to boot camp, just in case." He sighed softly. "I'm not sure about the whole... plane thing though." He rolled his eyes slightly. "Plus, y'know, not exactly the whitest person in the room, am I?"

"We'll make sure no one hassles you," Liam stated determinedly. "You're with us, and that's that."

"No splitting up anywhere," Harry agreed. "All for one, and one for all. Like the Musketeers."

"You dork," Zayn told him affectionately. "But okay. I'm glad I'm going with you lot."

~~~~

_ 7th August 2010, Manchester Airport _

Louis pressed a kiss to Jay's cheek and gave her one last hug before he left her at the car outside, tugging his suitcase along behind him as he made his way into the airport. He'd arranged with the boys for them to meet outside Caffè Nero in Terminal 3, where they'd been instructed to meet the production team. As he approached the cafe though, he realised he was the first one to arrive, so he slipped inside to grab a cup of tea before he settled on a bench outside.

They'd heard from Nicole only a day after they'd spoken to Amy. She had fully reassured them that there would be no limitations placed upon them or the way they act. She had also confirmed to them that their performance of Breakeven would definitely be aired, although she was in discussions with ITV as to how much of Simon's meltdown should be aired, if at all. She wished them all well and said she hoped to see them in the live shows, which immediately made them all decide that she didn't have the groups. Which sparked a debate for the remaining three days that they were at the bungalow as to which of the other three judges would get the groups, with a split choice of Danny and Chris.

Louis pulled his phone from his pocket and spotted the message there from Liam, saying that he was ten minutes away. He was about to reply, when a voice caught his attention.

"Louis!"

"Hey Zayn," Louis smiled. "I was getting a bit nervous that no one else was showing up," he joked. "You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, Dad got lost in the car park," Zayn shook his head in amusement. "And wouldn't let Mum ask for directions. Even though there were signs right in front of him, but what do I know, right?"

Louis snickered.

"Liam's on his way, I think, and Niall’s flight should have landed about twenty minutes ago, so he should be here any minute. Hopefully Harry's nearly here too."

"I hope so," Zayn said softly, taking a deep breath. "I'm literally shitting myself over this fucking flight, mate."

Before Louis could reply, he got an armful of teenage boy.

"Hiya Harry," he managed to grunt out, hugging him back easily.

"Hiya Lou," came the reply, along with a tighter squeeze, and a whispered admission. "Missed you a bit."

"Missed you a bit too," Louis smiled, squeezing back carefully. "You found it okay then?"

"Mum hates the motorway around here," Harry snickered. "So it was an interesting journey."

Less than five minutes later a harassed-looking Niall appeared, tugging a case behind him.

"Jesus fuck, it's a right pain in the ass to get out of arrivals and then find fucking departures again," he greeted them. "I kept having all these helpful folk trying to guide me through connections, and I repeated meself so many times that no, it's not a connection, I need to get to departures to collect me ticket, but holy hell it was like pulling teeth." He huffed out a heavy sigh and dropped his things in a pile on the floor. "Hi. How's it going?"

"A bit better than you, I reckon," Zayn said in amusement. "Although we're still missing Liam."

"He was just pulling into the car park about ten minutes ago," Niall informed them. "But he said there was a bit of a queue for the drop off point. So I'm guessing he'll be here in a bit."

"That's good," Zayn flickered a smile. "I think I've seen a couple of the groups already. They've been glaring at us a bit."

"That's cos they're shite," Niall said loudly. "None of em could carry a fuckin’ tune in a bucket, let alone in a fuckin harmony."

"Niall!" Harry protested, unable to stop his giggle, which somewhat lessened the impact of his scolding tone.

"Hi guys!" Liam appeared, looking out of breath and a little flushed, dropping his duffel bag on top of Niall's case. "Sorry, we kept getting caught up in traffic and roadworks, and I told Mum and Dad that we should've left earlier, but Dad was insistent that we'd make it on time, which, I suppose we did, but still! I had planned on being here much earlier, so I'm sorry that you've all been waiting for me."

"Li, Li, breathe, it's fine," Zayn managed to interrupt him. "It's okay. You're not late. And we're all here now. So. Let's go see if we can find the production crew or whatever."

They found Amy over at the Ryanair desk, chatting with one of the staff while she waited for the groups to arrive.

"Hi Amy," Louis called. "How unsurprising that they dragged you into this..."

"Living the dream, Louis, I'm living the dream," she replied with a chuckle. "Hope you're all okay?"

"Zayn's a bit freaked out by the flying, but he'll be okay," he nodded. "Who are we waiting on?"

"Diva Fever haven't gotten here yet, nor have Twem," Amy glanced down at her list. "But they've gotta do the same as Niall and come up from arrivals. Only two of Belle Amie are here so far. And no sign of Husstle."

"So quite a few missing then," Harry raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure they'll get here," Amy said confidently, looking around behind them before she leaned in slightly. "You know you're getting a load of glares, right?"

"Yes, Amy, we're fully aware," Louis sighed. "Probably because we were the catalyst for Simon's impeachment or whatever. It's fine. We can handle it."

"Okay, well, go take a seat and I'll get everyone's attention when we're all here," Amy told them. "Should only be a short while now."

"I'm early for, like, the first time in my entire life, and I have to wait," Zayn huffed. "It's ridiculous."

"Poor Zaynie," Louis teased. "You're gonna be fine with the flight though, bro. I promise." He paused for a moment. "Once we get past the loop the loop, everything's easy breezy."

"Loop the loop?" Zayn asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, the plane goes up like this," Louis said, using his hand to show the ascent of a plane. "Then does a loop the loop as it gets to altitude," he demonstrated a swirl in the air, "before it flattens out, and we continue on the way. It's really simple though, and you barely feel it, to be honest."

Zayn stared at him, his face ashen with stress.

"Lou, you're being mean," Harry whispered. "He looks petrified now."

"Eh, he'll get over it," Louis shrugged and snickered. "It's hilarious to watch though."

"So very mean," Harry shook his head.

Within half an hour, the remaining acts had arrived, and Amy had corralled everyone into the seating area, holding a bundle of boarding passes in her hand.

"Hello everyone!" she called. "I'm pleased to inform you that you will be taking a short plane ride over the English Channel, and a little further south, to the beautiful city of Barcelona!"

The gathered group of artists let out an excited cheer.

"You will be staying in a large manor, next to the coast, with a private beach," Amy continued. "You will have access to alcohol, but please be aware, those of you who are underage here in the UK are subject to our laws, not Spain's. So please, no intoxication -  we do not want to be fielding angry calls from your parents about allowing you to get wasted on our property.

"We will be flying with Ryanair, and I have your boarding passes here. If you'd like to line up in an orderly fashion,  we'll get you checked in and through this section as quickly as possible, and on your way over to Security, which is behind you and to the left. Let's get this done!"

The groups formed an uneven line as they chattered amongst themselves, slowly shuffling forward and collecting their boarding passes while handing over their hold luggage. As the boys wandered down the corridor after they'd gone through security - which took longer than expected due to Harry having forgotten the pocketful of change in his jeans, and the buckle on his belt - they found themselves face to face with all of Princes and Rogues.

"Um, hi?" Liam offered, raising an eyebrow.

"You shouldn't be coming with us," one of them said firmly. "If they got rid of Simon, they should've gotten shot of you at the same time."

"Why, cos none of us are straight?" Louis immediately fired back. "Because, y'know, I think this," he gestured around at the other group, "is classed as intimidation, and I'm pretty sure the production crew would  _ love _ to hear all about how a group of adults were bullying five queer teenagers, just for being queer."

"W-what? No, that's not what we meant," another of the group stammered. "We just mean cos you've been put together."

"So now you're suggesting that our musicality and authenticity is dependent on how we came to be singing together?" Zayn raised an eyebrow. "We're boybands. Most boybands are manufactured."

"Definitely are," Niall said cheerfully. "Look at the best of em - 'N Sync, Backstreet Boys... a bit closer to home, Boyzone, Westlife, Blue... all manufactured to some extent."

"And that was intentionally," Liam agreed. "We were... an accident?"

"A happy accident," Harry nodded. "But we're not going to apologise for how we were formed, either."

"So now, I suggest that unless you want to be taken back home before we even leave the ground, you back the hell off," Louis said firmly.

The older band all took a step back, and then to one side, leaving the space clear for the boys to pass by.

Harry slipped his arm through Louis', while Zayn slung his arm around Niall's shoulders, and Niall grabbed Liam's waist, all five continuing on through to the terminal to wait for their plane.

"That was horrible," Liam mumbled, when they were eventually somewhere quieter.

"Last time I was in that sort of situation, I had the shit kicked out of me," Zayn admitted. "So not the best experience, it has to be said."

Liam pulled Zayn into a tight hug, with the others quickly bundling around them in a close group hug.

"It was scary," Harry mumbled. "They're proper grown-ups, why the hell are they picking on us?"

"I think they're scared," Louis told him. "We scare them, because we're good together, with very little practice. And they've been together for years, and they're crap, if Nialler's ears are to be believed."

"Oi, my ears are fuckin perfect," Niall huffed indignantly. "Someone remind me I need to borrow a guitar when we get out there - I feel like I've lost a bloody limb."

"But you don't need to worry, Haz," Zayn assured him. "We'll always protect you. You're the baby of the band," he added in a teasing tone, nudging the younger boy.

"Heyyy, I'm not a baby," Harry protested.

"Those curls and dimples suggest otherwise," Louis snickered softly.

~~~~

The plane touched down in Barcelona a few hours later - after Zayn had repeatedly slapped at Louis for teasing him about the lack of loop the loops in the air - and the acts were put onto a coach to be taken to the manor house where they'd be performing for their judge.

Amy had kept her mouth shut completely and had not let anything slip at all about who their judge was to be, despite the amount of hassle they'd given her on the flight over.

As they stepped off the air-conditioned coach, Niall immediately let out a groan at the heat.

"I fuckin love Spain, don't get me wrong, es un país hermoso y me encanta aquí, pero follame hace calor," he huffed out, not even realising that he'd lapsed into Spanish, until he noticed the others looking at him blankly. "I dropped into Spanish, huh? Sorry."

"You never mentioned you were fluent, mate," Liam commented, following the production and camera crew up the driveway towards the large house.

"I'm sure I did?"

"Your exact words were, 'eh, I know a word or two, here and there'," Harry told him, with a fairly appalling Irish accent.

"I've got family here," Niall shrugged dismissively. "Kinda got used to good old Spanglish, y'know?"

"Well, it could come in handy here," Louis chuckled. "We'll get you to order the food and drinks. My Spanish is entirely limited to 'dos lagers por favor'." He glanced around. "Me and my mate Stan went to Ibiza just before my audition. That was about the only thing I picked up."

"The only thing?" Zayn asked, smirking as he nudged at Louis' side.

"Oi, yes, that's enough," Louis huffed. "It was the only thing. I kept getting girls trying to drape themselves over me when we were clubbing. It was a bit annoying." He rolled his eyes. "Stan was happy though - I was inevitably his wingman, because I wasn't interested and he was. He didn't fancy going to any of the gay clubs though. A bit scared for his innocence or something."

"That's not exactly fair," Harry frowned. "You had to be somewhere you weren't comfortable every night, while he just lived it up. Surely he could've let you have one night?"

"Nah, I didn't really want to anyway," Louis shook his head and stopped to look up at the house. "It just didn't feel right." He waited until they had rearranged themselves a little and gently nudged against Harry's side, then murmured only for him to hear. "I'm glad I didn't, as well. You're worth far more than that."

Harry looked at him quickly, his eyes wide for a couple of beats, before he smiled brightly, his dimples popping.

"When you two have quite finished flirting, we're supposed to be paying attention to the balcony or something," Zayn smirked at them.

"Shut up, Malik," Louis huffed, returning his gaze to the house. "I'm looking at the damn house."

"Who do you reckon then? Last bets?" Niall asked.

"I'm gonna go all in with Danny," Harry decided, nodding firmly.

"I reckon Chris," Liam disagreed.

"I'm gonna go Jessie, just to throw it out there," Louis offered.

"I think I'm gonna say Nicole, as a wildcard," Zayn said unexpectedly. "We decided to rule her out first cos of her wording, but what if it was deliberate? To throw us off the scent?"

"Valid point, Zaynie," Harry nodded thoughtfully. "I like your logic. But I'm sticking with Danny."

"You'd be right to," Niall told him, nodding at the front door, which had just opened, revealing the Irish singer.

"Oh my god," Louis breathed out slowly, his eyes wide. "Did I ever mention that he was my first celebrity crush? That I nearly made a twat of myself at the gig last year?"

"Nope, you definitely neglected to mention that part," Niall snickered.

"You definitely need to tell us all about how you embarrassed yourself," Zayn added.

" _ Nearly _ ," Louis insisted, not removing his gaze from Danny. "Now shut up, he's gonna talk."

"Hello, hello, hello!" Danny greeted them all with a wave and a smile. "I'm glad to have you all here, it's an absolute honour to be your judge. Although I don't like that term, so I'm gonna say I'm your mentor. I'm really excited to work with you all, and Nicole has very kindly allowed me to review your audition and bootcamp tapes, so I think we're going to have a brilliant time." He made sure to look at each act separately. "However, I do have something a little more serious to say. I've been told about a slight altercation that happened at Manchester Airport, between a couple of the groups here, and I wanna put this out here right at the start, so there's no mistaking how I feel - anyone, and I mean, anyone, who thinks that it's a big or clever thing to bully one of the other acts, especially one made up of younger people, you may as well turn around and get back on that coach right now. Because I will not stand for anything like that on my team."

The boys looked at each other with wide eyes, before they glanced over at Princes and Rogues, who were all looking sheepish, while everyone else just looked confused.

"Seems like they're keeping a closer eye than we thought," Zayn murmured.

"Possibly not a bad thing?" Niall suggested.

"We'll see," Louis hummed.

"Now then," Danny clapped his hands enthusiastically. "Let's not linger on negative things. We have a lot to get through before we start the performance section. If you'd all like to make your way inside to the dining room - follow Amy here - you will find a decent meal, and plenty to drink. Please have whatever you want. I'll be running vocal exercises in the ballroom once you're done."

"Vocal exercises?" Harry blinked.

"Where you warm up your voice," Liam explained. "What I've been trying to get you to do since bloody boot camp."

"Oh, all the twirls and loops and runs?" Zayn asked.

"Yes," Liam sighed. "If your voice is warmed up correctly, then you won't strain it, should you have to sing for an extended period of time - i.e., onstage for a show."

"Ohh, makes sense, I guess," Louis said. "I think we were supposed to do something like that when I was in Grease, but I was always messing about with the lads."

"Why doesn't that surprise me in the least?" Liam rolled his eyes teasingly, following the others into the dining room.

Once they were all fed and watered, they were guided through the house to the ballroom, which was just as lavish and elegant as the previous rooms had been. Danny was standing in the middle, with two familiar men stood each side of him.

"Oh shit," Louis cursed softly. "They're all fucking here."

"Breathe, Tommo," Niall chuckled. "You can do this. They're just blokes."

Louis let out a low whine, not noticing when Harry huffed and folded his arms over his chest, glaring at the floor. Zayn did notice, however, and nudged at Liam and Niall to bring it to their attention, softly snickering among themselves at how obvious Harry was being.

"Well everyone, this is my band," Danny told them, when everyone had gathered. "This here is Mark Sheehan, he plays lead guitar and sings a bit, and this is Glen Power, who rocks out on the drums. I play guitar and keyboard, and take on the majority of the lead vocals. We are The Script. We also know our shit. So if we tell you to do something, I highly suggest you do it. Even if it seems utterly ridiculous. There will definitely be a reason for it."

"Unless of course, it includes something to do with shots, or a keg," Mark put in. "Chances are, that's just to get you properly pissed for our amusement. You're welcome to ignore those instructions if you're underage, or not a drinker."

"Oh, yeah, I guess we can let that slide," Danny shrugged. "But anyway. We're gonna split yous all into three big groups, and we'll each take a group, and work with you that way."

With a surprising lack of fuss, the acts were split up, and sent to three different areas of the ballroom, before they were joined by a member of the band, with One Direction managing to be sent over with Husstle and Twem.

"My money's on us getting Sheehan," Niall nodded firmly. "He's a good bloke."

"Do you know them?" Louis turned on him with wide eyes.

"No," Niall stated flatly. "Just cos we're all Irish, doesn't mean we know everyone. Although it can seem like it sometimes, cos I'm pretty sure me mam went to school with Danny's auntie or something." He thought for a moment. "Or maybe it was my auntie...? I really couldn't say for definite."

"I thought I heard the tones of a fellow Irishman over here," Danny beamed as he approached them. "How's it going, fellas?" He caught sight of the girls from Husstle. "Sorry, and ladies?" He nodded at the murmurs of agreement. "Okay, well, let's start with a few warm ups, then we'll take it from there - there are a fair amount of exercises that you should really put your vocal cords through on a daily basis in order to keep them loose and limber."

Louis, who had been staring in awe, while Harry glared at the floor again, quickly got over his star-struck state and focused on paying attention to what he was being told. The boys picked up what was being said reasonably easily, while the girls in Husstle tried to get out of it, claiming that their vocal coach wouldn't approve of them working with someone else, while Twem just kept glaring at everyone else and muttering to each other in French.

Danny soon gave up arguing with the girls, and told the Frenchmen to either contribute in English so that everyone could understand or step to one side, leaving him working with One Direction alone.

"I heard your cover of Breakeven," he eventually said, when they broke for a few minutes. "On the tapes that Nicole sent over." He looked around at them and nodded. "You did a damn good job, especially seeing as it was on the fly."

"You, uh, you didn't mind the pronoun change?" Harry asked, uncertain.

"Not at all, not at all," Danny insisted. "Own your truth, lads. If that's how you identify, then own it. Sing it. Live it. That's something I can't stress enough. Don't let this industry shape you into something you're not at the beginning. Or you'll always be fighting against it."

"I asked a friend to pretend to be my girlfriend at my audition," Louis admitted. "Because I was worried that my sexuality would be held against me." He huffed softly. "Correctly, it seemed, after seeing Simon's reaction to Breakeven at boot camp."

"He is a very narrowminded individual, with a lot of his own issues," Danny said diplomatically. "But aside from him, the industry is starting to grow. It's slow, and it's in the tiniest of steps. But it's getting there. And without meaning to put any additional pressure on you lads, but I think you may be the sort of artist that needs to kick through that glass ceiling." He gestured around at them. "Look at you, you're young, you're handsome, you're multi-racial, and you're... all gay?" He finished uncertainly, nodding in agreement with the nods he received.

"So, you'd be an explosion to this somewhat backward industry that's full of old farts who barely know their arses from their elbows, let alone have any comprehension about what's going on in the world outside their boardrooms and golf courses." He gave them a reassuring smile. "Plus, y'know, I imagine you'd help a hell of a lot of kids out there who are being told on a daily basis that they're wrong and evil, and all that shite. Having you five stand up there on such a huge platform such as The X Factor, stating proudly that you're very much not straight, and there's fuck all wrong with that..." Danny let out a low whistle. "The impact."

"I think I speak for everyone here when I say that what you're talking about isn't something we'd ever really considered," Liam said slowly. "I grew up being the outcast, the weird sick kid, who sings a bit, runs a lot, and no one wanted to come to my birthday party. The idea of being an inspiration, or like... a beacon of hope? To kids who are just like I was? That just... blows my mind."

"It's definitely not what I came on the show for," Zayn commented. "But, I mean. My Mum and Dad have been so amazing about supporting me through everything - my Dad looked after me when I cried my way through my gay awakening, and Mum's been the one encouraging me to get through this. I'm a little bit worried about any reaction or retaliation they might get, but I think they'll both say that it's worth it. It's worth it to show people that you can be Muslim, mixed race, and gay."

"I think you're all amazing, amazing guys," Danny told them sincerely. "I literally cannot wait to hear what you come up with for the performance tomorrow, and I'm really looking forward to working with you," he added with a wink.

They all thanked him and grinned at each other as he moved back to the centre of the ballroom, dismissing everyone for dinner and a decent night's sleep before the next day.

After dinner, the boys headed up the stairs to their room, chattering among themselves and completely ignoring the other acts, having mutually decided without even discussing it that they would focus on themselves rather than the drama that the others seemed to be trying to create. Once the door was shut, and they were all piled onto one of the large beds, they all fell quiet for a moment before they collectively burst into giggles at the whole situation.

"Holy shit, we're in fucking Spain!" Louis managed to gasp out, resting his arm on Harry's shoulder and hiding his face there.

"Danny O'Donoghue's our fucking mentor," Niall added.

"And the other acts hate our guts!" Liam finished, leaning heavily against Zayn.

"This is definitely not what I was expecting," Harry chuckled. "I thought it would be like, hard work, no laughing, all seriousness. Instead, it's been like any other day around you lot." He beamed at them all. "Thank you for being my band, guys. You're all awesome."

"The feeling's mutual, Haz," Zayn assured him with a wink, trying to hold Liam upright.

"Definitely, although you were a bit sulky earlier, love," Louis nudged at Harry gently. "What was that all about?"

"Think he was jealous of Danny," Niall teased. "He kept glaring at him. It was quite sweet, really."

"Shut up, I take it all back, you all suck," Harry huffed.

"You don't need to be jealous, Haz," Louis reassured him quietly. "I promise." He reached out, gently rubbing at the 'Hi' on Harry's arm.

"I know, I know. Just. Being weird, I know. I'm sorry."

"No apologies necessary," Louis winked. "It's gonna be fine."

"Did anyone have an opinion on Danny's speech to us?" Zayn asked, resting his head against the headboard. "Cos, like... being a trailblazer? That's... not what I signed up for. And is it really gonna be  _ that _ easy?"

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say 'no'," Liam immediately said. "As much as I'd like it to be."

"Yeah, I'd definitely say that Danny's living in a bit of a dream world there," Louis nodded. "While I'm sure we'll be a help to some, I really doubt that we'll be as big as he seems to think we'll be." He paused for a moment. "Would be nice, though."

"Do you think it'd be different if we were closeted?" Harry asked slowly. "Like, if we did what Simon wanted?"

"Oh definitely," Niall nodded quickly. "We'd have that 'teen girl appeal' thing. Like. Fantasies and shit."

"Like most boybands, I guess?" Zayn shrugged a shoulder.

"Y'know, I'll be honest, I'm not a huge boyband fan," Louis admitted, shifting into a more comfortable position. "Like, I get their appeal - there's usually at least one pretty face in there - but like... the choreography, the 'typical' moves, the matching clothes? Not my thing at all."

"We can't dance for shit," Harry pointed out. "That much was obvious at boot camp."

"Exactly," Louis nodded. "So I think we should make an agreement now, before it gets much more serious, that we don't do choreographed dancing, and we try and avoid the whole matchy matchy clothes. Colour themes are a go, but no uniforms."

"Sounds good to me," Zayn shrugged a shoulder. "I don't wanna dress like the rest of you fashion-stunted dicks anyway."

"Hey!" Louis and Liam protested in unison.

"I'm just saying," Zayn held his hands up in defence. "Truth is truth, y'know?"

"You are such a twat," Louis huffed.

"Takes one to know one, bro."

~~~~

The next day, after breakfast, the groups all split off to practice the song they would be singing for Danny. The boys found a quiet room with good acoustics in the back of the house and promptly settled themselves in for the long haul. They had discussed which song they would do, but still had a few to choose from for their final decision.

"I think we need to go over them all again," Liam repeated for the third time.

"Yes, I think we've established that," Louis said in an annoyed tone. "However, I'm not sure we have enough time to sing through the six songs we're down to, then decide on one of those, and then practice it enough to be completely on point for the performance itself."

"I still think we should just go with Torn," Harry insisted. "It plays to our vocal strengths, and we sound amazing when we're all together in harmony."

The other four went quiet for a moment, as they considered what Harry had said. Niall was the first to sigh and nod.

"He's right," he muttered. "No matter how much I'd rather sing an NSync song, I think this would probably suit us better."

"Do we change the pronouns?" Liam asked.

"Why bother?" Zayn replied. "We've already established with Danny that we're not straight, so I think he'd probably find it odd if we suddenly no homo'd the hell out of this song."

"I guess we'd better start then," Louis grabbed the sheet of lyrics to Torn out of the pile.

Three hours later, someone from production came to fetch them, explaining that they needed to do the set-up for the performance.

"You basically just need to wander around looking pensive and moody," they shrugged.

"That... is not us?" Harry said slowly. "Can't we just hang out with a guitar? I mean. That sounds like an instruction from Simon, not Danny or Nicole."

The production runner looked a little flustered, glancing down at the sheet of instructions in their hand.

"Uh, I, uh, well," they stammered. "Um. I'll go talk to Amy."

"You do that," Zayn rolled his eyes a little. "We'll go wait by the pool."

"I guess some stuff has slipped through the net?" Liam chuckled. "Cos I highly doubt that what he said is the way Nicole wants us to appear. She seemed happy for us to be us when we spoke."

"Definitely a remnant from the old days," Amy said as she met up with them in the corridor. "Huge apologies. I should've checked the shooting guidance before I sent Tim out. He said something about a guitar?" She held a case out, which Niall immediately claimed with a quiet cheer. "Awesome. Make yourselves comfortable, and ignore the cameras."

"We'll do our very best," Liam told her earnestly.

"C'mon, Leemo," Louis lightly punched his arm. "Sit your ass down."

They settled down in a group, chatting and joking around as they normally would. Niall kept strumming his guitar now and then, alternately fiddling with the tuning at the end of the fret, and cooing over the quality of the guitar. After around ten minutes, Amy called for their attention again.

"Okay boys, time to get going for your performance," she said. "Have a quick chat with Dermot over there," she pointed, "then he'll guide you in the right direction to see Danny," she finished, rolling her eyes as they all cheered at the use of 'direction'. "Yeah, yeah, get on with it."

Niall handed back the guitar and they all moseyed over to where Dermot was waiting for them with a camera crew. After a few words of encouragement, he gestured to where Danny, Mark, and Glen were waiting to listen to them.

"Good luck, lads!" he called after them.

"Okay, we've totally got this," Zayn said firmly.

Louis stopped them all before they reached the spot they'd been told to stand.

"Hang on, hang on," he said softly. "I just wanna say, that no matter what happens here, I think we should really give this whole band thing a go. Even if we get sent home now. You lads are fucking awesome, and I've enjoyed this whole experience far more than I was expecting to."

"I agree, I agree," Niall nodded quickly. "I'm not sure I could picture singing on me own any more. It's like... destiny?"

"Gotta love a bit of fate," Harry agreed. "I think we were supposed to come together."

Louis gave him an affectionate look, rubbing at his arm over his soulmark, getting a nod in return.

"I wasn't too sure about it at first," Liam said slowly. "But yeah. You're all brilliant."

"Now we've agreed on that, and finished blowing smoke up each others' asses," Zayn commented drily. "How about we actually go sing?"

"Hands in," Louis grinned, holding his hand out in the middle of the circle, quickly being joined by the others. "One, two, three, hup!"

They all started to laugh as they broke apart and continued on over to stand in front of The Script.

"You okay there, lads?" Danny asked, a look of concern on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, we're good, thanks," Louis said firmly. "We were just sorting some last minute stuff out."

"Okay, well, have you decided what you're going to be singing for us today?"

"We're going to sing Torn by Natalie Imbruglia," Liam stated. "We decided it suits our voices, especially when we're harmonising."

Danny exchanged a look with Mark and Glen, before he nodded.

"Looking forward to it," he told them. "Best of luck."

The guitar began, and the boys exchanged reassuring looks, before Liam stepped forward slightly.

" _ I thought I saw a man brought to life, he was warm, he came around, like he was dignified, he showed me what it was to cry _ ," he sang softly.

" _ Well you couldn't be that man that I adored, _ " Louis picked up. " _ You don't seem to know, or seem to care, what your heart is for, and I don't know him any more. _ "

" _ There's nothing where we used to lie, _ " Harry belted out. " _ Conversation has run dry, that's what's going on, nothing's fine I'm torn. _ "

Niall and Zayn joined the rest for the chorus, with Harry singing the lead, Louis harmonising to him, and the other three providing backing vocals.

" _ I'm all out of faith, this is how I feel, I'm cold and I am shamed, lying naked on the floor. Illusion never changed, into something real, wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn, you're a little late, I'm already torn. _ "

They made it through the rest of the song, and all let out deep sighs of relief as it finished, coming together in a quick group hug, before they turned to face Danny, Mark, and Glen again for their feedback.

"I have to say lads, that is definitely not what I expected from yous," Danny spoke first. "You're a bit of an unexpected whirlwind to this competition, and I'm incredibly glad that you're in my category." He looked to his bandmates. "You got anything to add, fellas?"

"I just have to say, the control you have over your vocals, especially your harmonies, is exceptional considering you've only been together as a group for, what, three weeks?" Mark commented. "I'm completely blown away by it."

"Yeah, I agree with Sheehan," Glen nodded. "Also, I'd like to add that what surprised me most is how close you all are already. You look and act like a fully established band, and that's something that some who've been together for years still struggle with. Kudos to you."

After a few mumbled thanks, accompanied by a couple of blushes, the boys were pointed back over to Dermot.

"How did that go, boys?" he asked as they approached.

"Eh, not too bad," Harry shrugged nonchalantly, then grinned. "I guess we'll find out tomorrow, but I think I can safely speak for everyone when I say that we really enjoyed that."

"Definitely," Liam nodded quickly. "I'm really looking forward to performing with these lads again."

"You think you're a dead cert for the lives?" Dermot raised an eyebrow.

"Even if we don't get through, we've decided that we're gonna work together as One Direction in the future," Niall explained. "So even if it's crappy clubs and bars and open mic nights, we're going to keep performing."

"That's excellent to hear," Dermot grinned. "Good luck for tomorrow, and I'll speak to you after we know the results."

"Thanks Dermot," Zayn nodded at him.

~~~~

The next morning, they ate breakfast together in the main dining room, alongside the other groups, but quickly escaped afterwards, telling Amy that they would be down at the small beach a five minute walk away. After they'd got her reluctant permission, they made their way down the small narrow path and out onto the sand, kicking their flip flops off and then running down to the water.

They deliberately didn't discuss anything remotely to do with the competition or singing, instead chatting through different subjects - their future education plans, their next holiday, their last holiday, their most embarrassing moment at school - and just trying to relax and be teenagers for a bit longer.

When Amy eventually came to collect them, they were in the middle of a frenzied water fight, with a lot of dirty play from Louis and Harry, who were ducking beneath the water to grab at the others' legs to try and get them down into the water, all of them ignoring Zayn's protests about his lack of ability to swim.

"It's only fucking waist deep, Malik, get a grip!" Louis yelled after the last annoyed huff.

"You can drown in two inches of water, Tomlinson, get fucked!" came the reply.

"We're not gonna let you drown, you dickhead," Harry burst into giggles.

"Definitely not!" Liam insisted, crossing over to Zayn's side. "But maybe we should back off of him a little?"

"Someone's already whipped," Niall commented under his breath to Louis, making him snort with laughter.

"Boys!" Amy called from the shore. "Time to head back! You've got just enough time to rinse off and change, but only if you come along now!"

"She sounds like me mum," Louis huffed. "It's weird."

"I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thought that," Zayn remarked. "It was starting to freak me out a little too."

"Hey Amy!" Niall called. "Are you a mum?"

"How is that question pertinent to getting you up to the house for your decision to be heard?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Only cos you sound like one, and we were wondering if it's cos you've got the real life experience," Harry told her, shaking his head a little like a dog when he got to the sand.

"Oh, well, yes actually I am," she said with a smile. "I've got twin girls, they're six."

"They're the same age as my little sisters!" Louis exclaimed. "That's awesome. Phoebs and Dais are brilliant. Six is a great age."

"If you say so," Amy snickered. "My little terrors are exactly that - terrors. My partner keeps sending me begging messages to return home and help her."

After a quick shower and change, the boys were back with Amy and being directed to approach Danny over by the pool. They looked at each other, quickly clung together in another tight group hug before they slowly walked over and took a seat on the lounger opposite him.

"Do you need another seat?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow at them all squashed onto the one.

"No, we're good, thanks," Zayn replied.

"Okay, I'm not gonna leave you hanging on for too long, I imagine you're pretty anxious to know my decision." Danny smiled at the nods he received. "Right. Well, I'll be honest, when Nicole told me first that there were gonna be two groups here that were formed at boot camp - yourselves and Belle Amie - I was a little apprehensive. I've known my boys for years, and even with that it's taken us a long time to work together well. However, then I saw your performance of Breakeven, and I was... intrigued.

"You all showed a level of maturity that I wouldn't necessarily expect from people of your age," he continued. "Maturity, and to be quite honest, a shit-ton of guts. Because that's what it took, for you all to stand there in front of people who were deciding the fate of your future careers, and do what you did. It took guts. And I admire that. I admire what you did with that song, I admire the fact that you stood for what you believe in, and I admire that you've bonded as a group in an extraordinarily short time." Danny paused to look them over again. "But, I thought, what if it was a one off? A flash in the pan? Something you couldn't recreate again?

"So I was interested when you got here," he stated. "I was excited to see what you could come up with. And I was not disappointed in any way. Your performance yesterday was brilliant. I'm not saying it was perfect, there were a few issues with breathing and timing and diction, but overall, considering it was only your second time singing as a group? You were beyond my expectations."

He gave them all a smile.

"So then I have to think about who I'm taking through to the live shows. Because the others? They weren't bad. They all had just as much potential as yourselves, if not more. Some of them, they've got the history together, they have the knowledge of each other and the instinctual support that comes with that. But you boys, you've got age on your side. You've got the opportunity to grow and develop and become an amazing group. I've seen you with a guitar, Niall. I reckon you could play onstage if you ever wanted to." He paused, then grinned. "Onstage at Croke Park, even."

Niall stared at him with wide eyes, then looked at the others in shock, getting grins and pats on  the back and shoulders in return.

"Now, I know from the notes that Simon made about you all at the auditions, that Nicole sent to me - with a huge note telling me not to follow it, but just to use it as a reference for his perception of your vocal abilities - I know that he would've wanted you to hide who you are," Danny said solemnly. "And I know that I'm taking a risk even considering you all for the lives, not because of your sexualities, but because of everything I said before. However," he paused, then started to smile. "I'm all about risk when it comes to music - you're through to the live shows!"

The boys stared at him in stunned silence for a beat, then another, and then another, before they collectively let out a loud yell and fell on top of each other in a messy hug slash puppy pile slash mess. Liam was the first to untangle himself from the other limbs to get to his feet and rush over to Danny, throwing his arms around the older man in a tight hug, to be quickly joined by the other four, all chanting thank yous.

"We won't let you down Danny, I swear it," Louis told him earnestly. "We are one hundred percent in this for the long haul, and we're going to do you proud."

"I have no doubt about that, boys," Danny chuckled, hugging them all back as best he could. "Thank you for sticking with the show, and for putting your faith in me. I promise to work with you rather than against you on every single element of your performances."

"That's brilliant," Harry hiccuped, his cheeks stained with tears and a seemingly immovable dimple.

"Go see Dermot," Danny told them. "But welcome to Team Danny!"

They let out another yell, before running over to the presenter, all throwing themselves on top of him excitedly.

"Argh!" he protested jokingly. "I'm not sure I can handle being squashed by five growing teens!" Dermot managed to escape from the mass of bodies around him, then grinned brightly. "So... happy?"

"Definitely, definitely, definitely," Liam said emphatically. "I can't remember the last time I smiled this much. My cheeks are already starting to hurt!"

"I need to call my mum!" Zayn and Louis both blurted out, then looked at each other and laughed some more.

"Phone calls can be made in just a few seconds, lads," Dermot assured them. "I just wanna wish you all the very best for the live shows. You sounded amazing at boot camp, you sounded absolutely fantastic yesterday. Much like Danny, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you bring to us next. One Direction, everyone!"

Dermot held out his hand for them each to shake, getting hugs as well, while the crew around them applauded excitedly.

"C'mon kids," Amy chuckled. "Your phones are on the table in the dining room. You were the first to be told, so please, leave everyone else's phones alone? Don't be dicks?"

"We'll be good," Niall assured her. "We just wanna phone home!"

"Congratulations to you all," Amy winked. "I'm looking forward to telling you off on a regular basis for ten weeks."

"You think we'll go all the way?" Liam stared at her. "Even though we're not straight heart throbs for the girls to lust over?"

"You're still heartthrobs," Amy shrugged. "It'll just be the boys lusting over you, that's all."

The boys all exchanged looks, because they could all honestly say that the thought hadn't particularly occurred to them.

"We are so stupid," Harry commented.

At that, they all started to laugh again, and made their way back inside the house to share the news with home.

~~~~

_ 9th October 2010, The Fountain Studios, Wembley, London _

"What the fuck?"

"Are you two actually serious right now?"

"We are about to go onstage!"

Three voices all spoke over each other, all chastising and annoyed. The two they were yelling at sheepishly pulled apart and shifted awkwardly.

"Sorry," Liam mumbled. "It's just..." he shrugged a shoulder.

"We like each other, okay?" Zayn said defiantly. "And we were both nervous, so we thought it would be a good stress reliever. Bit of a snog, release some endorphins, feel a little better."

"I don't really care about that," Louis rolled his eyes. "I'm more concerned about your timing. And like Harry said, we're about to go onstage. Literally. Amy's been yelling for us for about five minutes now. We just couldn't find you."

"Cos apparently you were too busy making out in a broom cupboard," Harry added helpfully. "A little bit cliched, don't you think?"

"Oh shut it, Haz," Zayn told him with an amused tone. "Like you and Lou haven't taken full advantage of the airing cupboard at the house."

"That is entirely beside the point, and we should be making our way to the stage now," Harry huffed.

"He is right," Niall added. "C'mon. Before anything else gets put into anyone else that it shouldn't."

"There were no things being put in anything!" Liam protested.

"I definitely saw a tongue," Louis nodded seriously. "And it wasn't just in your own mouth."

"I thought we had to be onstage?" Zayn raised an eyebrow. "How about we stop judging, and get out there and sing our damn song?"

"I'm on board with that," Liam said immediately.

"There's a surprise," Harry coughed into his fist.

"That's enough from everyone," Amy instructed, handing out microphones. "Get your backsides into position, your music starts in thirty seconds."

"Thanks Amy," Louis grinned. "See you after."

"Break a leg," she called after them.

The song -  _ Viva La Vida _ \- went off without a hitch.  The boys came together in a tight huddle in the middle of the stage, just experiencing the moment, before they stepped back and turned to face the judges, ready for their feedback, which they struggled to do over the screams of the audience.

"Wow, wow, wow," Nicole started. "That was amazing, boys! You are far and away the strongest group we've seen on this show for years, possibly ever. Listen to this!" She gestured behind her. "I foresee amazing and fantastic things for you. I'm so happy you're here right now, and that Danny made the right decision in putting you through, so thank you for that, Danny." She grinned and then looked at Chris.

"I actually think you did it better than we do," he shrugged a shoulder, then chuckled. "Believe me when I say that I'm not normally one for boybands, but I think for you guys I could definitely make an exception. Your performance was clean, tight, professional. Fantastic, well done."

"I have to disagree slightly with my colleagues," Lily leaned forward to her mic, her words causing a loud booing sound from the audience. "Let me finish please! I disagree because I think there were a couple of you who were slightly off key. However, however!" Her voice rose to be heard over the increasing volume of the boos. "I do think that you have an immense amount of potential, and I think you're going to go far in this process."

Danny was looking at Lily in utter disbelief, so missed his cue from Dermot at first.

"Oh! Me! Sorry," he quickly apologised. "I was just trying to work out how the hell someone could come up with 'a couple of you were off key', when I didn't hear a single flat or off note in that entire performance." The audience yelled and screamed in response. "Now then, Nicole, you just thanked me for putting these boys through. I don't deserve that. I don't deserve any of the thanks. One Direction, those boys there on that stage, they deserve the thanks, because they are the ones who are standing up for themselves, being true to themselves. They're being determined and strong and forceful about it, and anyone who disagrees with them, or thinks they should be considered less, or other, they are refusing to let those bigots and phobic individuals bring them down. Instead, they are coming out here, and they are giving us the best performance of the night!"

"Thank you Danny!" Dermot got in before Danny could continue. "You heard him, ladies and gents, the best performance of the night. If you want One Direction to stay in the show, and perform again next week, then call the number on the screen below. Let's hear it one more time for One Direction!"

The programme cut to a break, and the boys were ushered offstage. They half ran down the corridors into their dressing room, where they stopped and looked at each other for a moment, before bursting into loud yells.

"Fuck yeah, that was amazing!" Zayn whooped, punching the air.

"I can't believe we actually did that, I just can't believe it," Liam shook his head, looking completely overwhelmed.

"We totally kicked ass out there!" Niall yelled. "No one is gonna top that!"

Harry and Louis just laughed loudly, leaning against each other with their arms slung around shoulders and waists.

~~~~

They couldn't have wished for a better start to the live shows. The reaction they received was unprecedented - a quick look at the X Factor forums when they got back to the house, and the boys were all shocked to find that they'd been unofficially adopted by the online LGBT+ sector, who were determined to support the 'baby gays'.

"Baby gays?" Niall raised an eyebrow. "Is that what we are?"

"I guess so?" Harry shrugged a shoulder. "I guess cos we're young?"

"Definitely a bunch of baby gays," Josef from Diva Fever sniffed as he passed. "Although I'm not quite sure why they chose to support you, when clearly you're not the only queer group in the competition."

"Dunno, mate," Zayn shrugged. "But we're not gonna turn it away. We'll wish you all the best, but it's a competition at the end of the day."

Louis let out a snort as Josef huffed and stormed off.

"Think you managed to piss him off," he commented.

"Oh fucking well," Zayn looked completely unbothered. "Dude needs to grow up. World doesn't revolve around them."

"I guess it's nice to have that support?" Harry said to Louis, still looking uncertain.

"Definitely is," Louis agreed. "I hope no one in production freaks out about it though." He paused for a moment, then looked at the others with a smile. "You think we'll get a load of the community coming to the show? Cos that would be sick."

"If the audience is filled with drag queens, then Wagner will not perform!" interrupted a deep accented voice.

"Oh no, how awful that would be," Zayn said flatly. "I'm sure the country would be devastated by that."

"Zaynie," Liam chastised gently. "Be nice."

Wagner huffed and flicked his hair over his shoulder as he stormed off.

"He gives everyone the creeps, Li," Zayn defended himself. "I'm not gonna be nice to him. He's weird."

"Especially not when he says shitty things like that," Niall added. "Tosser doesn't deserve manners when he can't use them himself."

"I think we should probably head to bed," Harry put in before anyone else could say anything. "We have another long day tomorrow."

They all quickly agreed and made their way upstairs to their shared room, crawling into bunks and beds and drifting off quickly.

~~~~

_ London, 1856 _

"Lady Louise, Mrs Harriet Sinclair is here," the butler announced formally.

"Thank you, Smith. Please, show her in," Louise stood and straightened her dress carefully, before smiling warmly as Harriet bustled through the doorway. "Harriet, darling! It's so wonderful to see you!"

"Louise! It's been so long!" Harriet crossed the room quickly, pressing a kiss to each of Louise's cheeks and holding onto her hands, until the doors closed behind Smith. "Oh my love," Harriet breathed, leaning in close and resting her forehead against Louise's. "I have missed you so much."

"And I, you," Louise replied, gently nuzzling. "How was London? And society?"

"Eugh, let's not talk about such vile things," Harriet huffed as she pulled back, taking a seat on the sofa. "Needless to say, they're all just as full of themselves as they were last season, and infinitely less interesting. I was so bored, Lou." Harriet leaned forward conspiratorially. "I even found myself taking up the pianoforte - I had the most brilliant teacher who would come to the house. She taught me all kinds of wonderful things."

"W-wonderful things?" Louise stammered, looking a little uncertain. "Like... like what?"

"Oh, you know, pianoforte things!" Harriet smiled brightly, then realised that her words had had a negative affect. "Oh, darling Louise." She took Louise's hand in hers, lifting it to rest her cheek against the back of it. "I missed you so very much. My dreams were full of you, both as you are now, and our many many lives together." She gave a secretive smile. "Whoever would have guessed that men were able to do such things?" She added with a cheeky wink.

"Harriet," Louise breathed out slowly, leaning into her. "I am sorry to bring the mood down so, but words cannot express to you strongly enough how relieved I am to see you, and to have you back in town."

"Louise?" Harriet frowned, shifting a little closer. "What has happened? You do not seem to be your usual bright self. What is wrong, my love?"

"Lord William has been getting worse," Louise said shakily. "His irrational behaviour has almost verged on violence of late. He is adamant that I am not a healthy woman, that I have been tainted by the ways of the devil." She clutched tightly at Harriet's hands. "Harriet, my darling, I believe he wishes to put me into an asylum."

"No," Harriet shook her head firmly, and stood up, striding across the room. "No, that will not happen, Louise. I forbid it." She turned on her heel to face Louise, before crossing back quickly and dropping to her knees at Louise's feet, grabbing onto her hands. "I refuse to lose you to one of those places. I know,  _ I know _ , that you are perfectly well, perfectly sane. What reason can Lord William possibly come up with as grounds to send you to one of those... those madhouses?"

Louise gazed down at the face of her best friend, her lover, her soulmate, filled with innocence and love, and felt her heart break with pain, knowing that she was about to remove that innocence with only a handful of words.

"He knows, my darling," she said softly. "He knows about us." She watched as the shutters slammed closed on Harriet's face. "One of the manservants heard us before you went away. Lord William was informed the day after you left." Louise took a shaky breath. "You are the first person I've seen, aside from Lord William's mother, since then."

"But, but Charlotte, she was about to bear her child when I left," Harriet gasped. "Does that mean you have not...?"

"Met my nephew, no, I have not," Louise revealed. "Lord William has told my family, quite firmly, that I am incredibly sick, and highly infectious, and that I am not to have any contact with them whatsoever, so as to restrict and limit any chance of contamination."

"Louise," Harriet said quietly, her eyes flicking over to the door.

"I have been beside myself with boredom and frustration being here," Louise continued, not hearing Harriet. "I have been allowed the occasional turn down to the pond and back, but nothing too exhausting."

"Louise," Harriet repeated, glancing around at the other door and the windows.

"Of course, I have spent my time wandering the halls and staircases here, and I am most definitely caught up on my reading," Louise chattered on. "There are three new needlepoints framed in the library too."

"Louise!" Harriet snapped forcefully.

"What? What is it?" Louise looked around worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"If you haven't been allowed visitors, or contact with anyone in the past four months," Harriet began. "Then why was I allowed in, with no questions asked? Why haven't we been served tea, which we normally would have by now?"

"I..." Louise stared at Harriet, horror visible on her face. "Do you think...?"

"Oh, darling," Harriet sighed heavily, crossing over to Louise and pulling her into a tight hug. "I love you with every single part of me, and I am in no way ashamed of that." She pressed a kiss to Louise's forehead. "But, my heart, I do believe we're in a slight bit of bother right now."

"I won't let you go, Harriet," Louise said firmly, clinging tightly to Harriet's waist. "I don't care what they try and do. I won't let you go. I can't let you go. I can't give you up." She started to cry, pressing her face to Harriet's shoulder.

"I know, my love, I know," Harriet rocked her slowly, tears rolling down her own cheeks. "I know. We've gone through so much to be here. But I think... I think this will be it for us." Her voice dropped to a husky whisper. "I'm so sorry, my darling, my dear heart. Please remember that we will always find one another. Fate will always bring us back together. in whichever form she decides is best, in whichever time she feels is right." She pressed a tender kiss to Louise's forehead. "And I will always want you the most. My soulmate."

The door banged open, as Lord William led Charles Sinclair, Harriet's husband, and a team of medical professionals barged in.

"Here are the hysterical women," Lord William declared. "They need to be physically restrained, and detained in an asylum, where they will no longer be able to hurt themselves or other people with their twisted ideas of carnal sin."

"You may have a say on your own wife's position," Charles Sinclair stated mildly. "But, sir, may I please remind you that you have no authority over mine?" He looked at Harriet. "Darling, come here. Let us away back to London." He took a slight step closer. "Such upset will not be good for the baby."

"B-baby?" Louise stammered, looking quickly at Harriet. "You're having a baby?"

"Yes," Harriet nodded slowly. "I am." She rested her hands against Louise's cheeks. "And he will be so excited to meet his beautiful Aunt Louise."

"That's enough!" Lord William demanded. "Doctor, please restrain Lady Louise, and take her immediately to your facility. Before her filthy sin curses that innocent child."

"You cannot take her," Harriet insisted. "Charles, please, please don't let this happen."

"I'm sorry, my dear wife," Charles said regretfully. "You must let her go."

Harriet held onto Louise's hands, even as the doctors came to restrain her. Tears fell down both the women's cheeks, as soft words of love and promise and forgiveness fell from their lips, until Louise was dragged away, and Harriet fell to her knees, crying into her hands. Charles crossed to his wife, kneeling down beside her and slipping his arms around her carefully.

"Come along, Harriet," he said quietly. "Let me take you home."

~~~~

_ 17th October 2010, The X Factor House, London _

"Cos we belong together now yeah, forever united here somehow yeah, you got a piece of me, and honestly, my life would suck without you," Harry sang quietly against Louis' ear as he pulled him closer in the narrow single bed. "Through to week three, darling."

"We are that, we are that," Louis nodded in agreement. "And you are the sappiest of saps, love."

"What?" Harry pulled back slightly, nearly tumbling over the edge of the bed as he did so. "You can't honestly tell me that you didn't realise how much that chorus fits us?"

"Well," Louis looked a little confused. "The rest is about a couple who've broken up... so... not really?"

"Oh," Harry pouted. "I see."

"Don't give me that look. We're soulmates, love. You know I'm in this for the long haul."

"I know," Harry sighed. "My wrist has been itching a little by the way. The same way my arm did before the Hi appeared."

"Your left?" Louis checked, nodding at Harry's agreement. "Yeah, me too. What do you reckon that's about?"

"Didn't you say that we've had multiple marks before?"

"Hmm, yeah, back in Ancient Egypt," Louis agreed. "Lukman and Husani were covered." He smirked a little. "And they liked their oils..."

Harry flushed hard, shifting slightly as his sixteen year old body reacted to Louis' words.

"When --" he cut himself off and cleared his throat, coughing into his hand, before he tried again. "When do you think I'll start to remember?"

"I dunno, love," Louis pulled him close, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I think it has to be something major that triggers it."

"Like... like, sex?" Harry suggested.

"Um, I dunno," Louis stammered slightly. "Possibly? I guess? But... we're not doing that, love. Not yet."

"Why not?" Harry looked up at him with a frown.

"Sweetheart, you're only sixteen," Louis said softly. "And I know, you'll be seventeen in February. But how about we wait until then? I don't want to rush this."

Harry sighed heavily, but gave up the discussion, instead choosing to cuddle into Louis' side a little more.

"Do you think we should tell the boys about us?" he eventually asked.

"We already know about you, dickheads," Niall stated, walking into the room with one hand over his eyes. "I'm not gonna go blind if I move my hand, am I? All your clothes are present and correct?"

Louis threw a pillow at him.

"Don't be a shithead," he stated. "We're just laid here."

"It's the laying part I'm worried about," Niall smirked as he dropped his hand. "Jokes, jokes. I hope you're both okay though? You seemed a bit quiet?"

"We're good, tired is all," Harry gave him a small smile.

"Through to week three, Nialler," Louis commented. "How do you feel about that?"

"I feel like we should have more queens at the studio, if I'm honest," Niall declared. "Who do we contact to make that happen?"

"Ooh, yes, definitely," Harry agreed, sitting up to be able to see Niall properly. "I think it'd be a proper carnival party feeling if there were more queens. Don't you think, Lou?"

"You're probably right," Louis nodded. "But I'm not sure how we'd go about encouraging them to come along."

"Twitter?" Niall suggested. "They've been telling us to use Twitter more often, and we've got a band account now. So we could try that?"

"Go for it," Liam agreed as he wandered in, closely followed by Zayn. "I reckon asking people to come along would be a brilliant thing."

"Agreed," Zayn nodded. "Specially if they're anything like the people who were in tonight. They were wild."

"I'm still shocked they managed to get in, to be honest," Louis chuckled. "I bet the security blokes were utterly baffled when a group of drag queens rocked up in heels, wigs, and sequins, waving their tickets around, and promptly making their way down to the front with One Direction banners."

"It was wonderful though," Harry smiled. "They were all amazing."

"I hope word of mouth increases their numbers," Zayn nodded. "Guilty Pleasures week next."

"We should do Gloria Gaynor,"  Niall said with a nod.

"I Will Survive?!" Harry gasped. "Yes!"

"You have to tweet that we're doing that," Louis pointed at Niall.

"We're not allowed to yet," Niall protested. "Amy said embargo on songs until at least Wednesday."

"Amy's an idiot," Louis huffed.

"Louis," Liam chastised gently. "Be nice. She's just doing her job."

"Yeah, yeah," Louis dropped back onto the bed. "It's gonna be awesome though."

~~~~

_ 11th December 2010, X Factor House, London _

Weeks three through seven seemed to go by in the blink of an eye, then eight, and then nine, and before any of them had even really stopped to think about it, the final was upon them. And One Direction were still in the competition. When they woke up on the morning of the final performance day, the house empty and quiet around them as they went down to the kitchen for breakfast, they looked at each other in stunned silence, no one wanting to say anything to break the tense atmosphere that surrounded the house.

"Morning boys," Rebecca greeted them quietly when they reached the kitchen. "The final, huh?"

"Yeah," Louis nodded slowly. "The final."

"We never expected to get here," Niall said quickly. "We thought we wouldn't even have made it past the first show."

"You've definitely got yourselves a niche fanbase," Matt commented, eyeing them all. "From what I've heard, Lily isn't too happy about it. She reckons you're 'monopolising a portion of the demographic'."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Rebecca declared, her Liverpudlian accent strengthening in her annoyance. "How can they be monopolising a group of people, or rather a community, that they're legitimately a part of? We're both straight, we can't claim any ownership or rights to it, can we?"

"I'm... not entirely straight," Matt shrugged a shoulder. "Spent a few nights with Aiden before he left."

"I did not need to know that information, Matthew," Rebecca muttered. "My room is between both of yous'! I kept asking you what those noises were!"

"Anyway," Louis interrupted, before they could continue their argument. "I'm not entirely sure that we're monopolising anything."

"Nah, you're not lads," Matt clapped a friendly hand on Louis' shoulder. "She's just trying to rationalise and find an excuse for you still being here. So what if a whole sector of the public is voting for you? Isn't that what we're here for? To get votes?" He rolled his eyes. "She just doesn't like you. Let her get on with it."

"Sounds like a plan," Zayn agreed as he grabbed a bowl for his cereal.

"Well, we never expected to get to the final," Liam reiterated. "So to be here, is pretty immense."

"Those video diaries you've been doing on the stairs have definitely helped," Rebecca pointed at them with her teaspoon. "Me mam even said about them. Seems like you've taken over the internet with them."

"That's cos they act like absolute idiots and somehow people are falling over themselves to coo at them," Matt snickered. "You've definitely got the endearing thing down pat. I'm more than a little impressed, if I'm honest."

Harry gave a dramatic bow, nearly hitting his head on the table as he came back up.

"Why thank you, Matthew," he declared, flapping a little at Louis' hand that had prevented the collision between his head and the table. "We greatly appreciate your comments."

"You lot are just so weird," Matt sighed, before he got to his feet and stacked his bowl in the dishwasher. "I'll see you at the studios."

"Wait for me, Matt," Rebecca got up quickly. "I just need to grab my bag."

The boys were soon left alone, gazing at each other around the kitchen table.

"So," Liam eventually broke the silence.

"So," Niall nodded in agreement.

"In it together, no matter what, right boys?" Louis checked.

"Always," Zayn agreed immediately.

"Forever," Harry murmured, leaning into Louis a little.

"Then let's go do this," Liam jumped up to his feet. "Let's go try and win the bloody X Factor."

~~~~

They came third.

As soon as the cameras were off, and they'd managed to get offstage, through the masses of floor staff and runners and grips and other random people milling about, and safely into the quiet sanctuary of their dressing room, they just stopped. Stared at each other in stunned and disbelieving silence. Until Harry choked on a sob, breaking the silence and the tension as he curled in on himself, starting to cry in earnest.

Louis moved first, but the others quickly followed, all wrapping their arms around Harry and each other, curling together in their shared grief.

They gave themselves ten minutes, long enough to get the bulk of their emotions out, before Liam sat up first, wiping at his cheeks quickly.

"Okay," he said firmly. "That's enough, boys. We still have interviews to do. We still have to go out there and support whoever wins. We have to be adults about this, and we have to show that this hasn't broken us. Otherwise, people like Lily will crow and use it to keep us down."

"Not going to let that happen," Louis growled softly.

"Exactly," Liam nodded. "So, we'll pop by makeup, get ourselves cleaned up, and then go back out there with our heads held high."

With a collective nod, they all straightened their clothes, dusted themselves off, and left the room, walking purposefully towards makeup.

"There you are!" Amy greeted them, looking worried. "We didn't know where you'd gone!"

"We were in our dressing room," Niall raised an eyebrow.

"I swear I sent one of the interns to check there," Amy muttered. "No matter, you're here now. Into makeup, you need to be back onstage in three minutes."

"That's where we were headed, Amy," Louis sighed, stepping past her. "Sorry, it just hit us a little harder than we were expecting." He kissed her cheek lightly. "Thanks for everything, though."

"Hey, you know I'm not supposed to have favourites," Amy said quickly. "But you have all been an absolute pleasure to work with. Thank you all for making the past ten weeks, and beyond, fun and worthwhile."

"Aww, Amy!" Harry grinned, then pulled her into a tight hug, the other four joining him. "You're the sweetest!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're adorable too," she huffed. "Now get your asses into makeup already!"

Five minutes later, after the girls in makeup had finished tutting at the way all five had 'smeared their coverage' - blank looks from all of them - they were back in the wings of the stage, waiting for the announcement of the winner. Matt and Rebecca were standing with their judges, Lily and Nicole, and the tension was palpable.

"And the winner of the X Factor 2010 is.... Matt!" Dermot declared.

"You think he'd have got as much support if people had realised that he wasn't straight?" Niall asked, tilting his head to one side slightly.

"Nope, definitely not," Louis said firmly. "Lily's been pushing him as the poster boy for straightness for weeks. I doubt she even knows that he's not."

They watched as Matt leaned in to say something next to Lily's ear, her face draining of all colour before she flushed hard.

"I think she knows now," Harry observed.

"Kudos to Matt for laying that one out there in front of the cameras," Zayn chuckled. "At least she can't do anything there."

The stage was quickly set up for Matt to perform his winner's single again, and part way through, One Direction, along with all the other acts, were given the signal to storm the performance, jumping on Matt and generally making a nuisance of themselves. Louis tugged Harry out of the way just as Matt pulled Aiden into a kiss, in full view of the audience, the judges, the cameras, and everyone watching.

"Well, that escalated fast," Liam commented to Louis, who just laughed.

Once they were done with their commitments to the Xtra Factor interviews, and the exit interviews with the production, and met up with Danny and Nicole, they could finally find their families.

"Boobear!" Jay called across the dressing room as she rushed over to hug him tightly.

"Hey Mum," Louis replied, leaning into her. "Sorry."

"Whatever are you apologising for, poppet?" she pulled back slightly, resting her hands on his cheeks and gazing into his eyes.

"Letting you down? Not winning?" he shrugged.

"Oh, sweetheart," Jay wrapped him up into her arms properly. "You did not let me down, at all. I am so, so proud of you. And I know that something is going to come out of this. You're all going to go on to do amazing things. I just know it."

"You can't be sure of that," Louis sighed.

"Yes, I can," she assured him. "I know you and I know enough about these boys now. You're all a force to be reckoned with, and the fans that you've managed to gather over these past weeks... they're all brilliant, Lou. They're so supportive and protective of you. It's been amazing to sit in the audience with them week after week." She grinned. "They gave the girls a makeover in the ad breaks." Louis peered over to see Lottie and Fizzy bedecked in glitter and sparkles. "I don't think I've ever seen either of them so happy."

"I'm glad, they're good people," Louis smiled softly. "And I'm glad they were nice to the girls."

"Mark was a little unsure at first, but I got him to hush up," Jay added with a wink. She smiled as she watched Louis' gaze instinctively stray to Harry. "How's he doing?"

"Who?"

"Harry," Jay nodded over at him. "As always, your focus seldom drifts from him."

"Sorry," Louis blushed. "But he's okay. He was upset. We all were. But... I think we're going to be okay."

"Course you will," Jay said breezily. "Been telling you that for ages, darling."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Louis rolled his eyes. "We're all just a bit shell-shocked right now, I think."

"Hardly surprising."

"Thanks, Mum," Louis said suddenly. "For being here. For coming every week, even though you've got the girls to look after. It means so much more than I could ever explain."

"Oh Louis, darling," Jay pulled him into another hug. "Of course. You're my son, of course I'm going to be here. I will always be here for you. I will always support you. No matter what you do. You should know that by now."

"I do," he said softly. "But y'know, I just like to thank you for it now and then."

Jay grinned and hugged him tightly.

"You'll always be my boobear, poppet," she told him softly. "And I'll always be your mum."

Louis didn't reply, just hugged his mum back.

~~~~

A week later, One Direction were called into the offices of EMI, and offered a recording contract. After heavy consultation with their own lawyers, as well as their parents, they signed on for two albums over four years, with an option to extend. Two days after that, they had managed to convince and sign on Harry's stepdad, Robin, as their manager.

"We figured that you'll only have our best interests at heart," Louis reasoned as they sat with Robin and Anne.

"Yeah, you'll stand up for us, and you won't take the piss," Zayn added.

"I'm still not sure why you chose me though," Robin admitted. "Geoff's got a good head on his shoulders, and Yaser's not a fool. Mark's got good business sense, so has Des. I know Bobby's job requires a lot of commitment. But there's your mums as well."

"Have you seen Kris Jenner?" Niall raised an eyebrow, then looked quickly at Anne. "No offence, Anne!"

"Very little taken," she replied, her eyes narrowed teasingly. "But I completely get what you mean. Mums for managers has seldom worked out well - the kids end up feeling overworked and underappreciated, and the mothers get more and more power and money and fame hungry." She paused for a moment. "Exactly like Kris Jenner."

"So we spoke a lot about it," Harry put in. "We went over each of our parents, our grandparents, trusted friends, family friends, people we've met through the show. Your name kept coming up, Rob. The boys trust my word, and we're all grateful for what you did with our name, getting it trademarked for us before we went to Spain, so that no one connected to the show could claim ownership of it." He looked at Anne with a small smile. "And I reckon Mum would probably be a lot happier knowing that you were looking after us, rather than a bunch of corporate suits who will only really care about the money we can make for them."

"Definitely," Anne agreed. "But you shouldn't let my feelings have an impact on your decision."

"Mum, don't be daft," Harry sighed. "Of course they should. I don't want to just, like, sign a few contracts and then be like 'see ya in a few months'. I'm a sixteen year old, and I actually still need parenting, no matter what some of my friends seem to think."

"You'll be seventeen in February," Anne sniffed, starting to get emotional.

"I know, but that's still not an adult," Harry gave her a gentle nudge. "It almost sounds like you're trying to get rid of me now."

"Never!" she immediately protested, pulling him into a tight hug. "Not a chance, Harry." She pressed a kiss to his head, making him squirm a little for show.

"Well then," he grinned at her.

"We were thinking of getting a house together," Liam spoke up. "But not in London, not yet. We just want to learn a bit about ourselves and who we are as a band, before we start writing and recording."

"We've got the X Factor Tour to go on," Niall added. "I haven't looked at the dates for that yet though."

"I have," Liam said, a little darkly. "They're a little ridiculous."

"How do you mean?" Robin asked.

"There's a number of dates where we have matinee performances as well as evening shows," Liam explained. "And there's not a great deal of time off between the dates."

Robin frowned and looked at Anne, before he looked at Liam again.

"You'll have to show me a proper timetable, son," he said firmly, getting up.

"Now?" Liam widened his eyes, looking around at the others quickly.

"Yes, please," Robin nodded. "There are performance laws for those under the age of eighteen, so let's go check that they're complying, shall we?"

"Mum, Robin's scaring Liam," Harry murmured.

"Oh, he doesn't mean it," Anne shrugged it off. "He's just worried about you all." She looked at them all. "So, have you started thinking about what sort of band you want to be?"

"How do you mean, Mum?" Harry looked confused.

"Are you going to stick with the poppy pop genre?" she elaborated. "Or go a little rocky, a little indie? Are you gonna start wearing matching outfits? Learn some dance routines? Play instruments?"

"Uh, well," Louis looked at the other three uncertainly. "I guess, we thought we'd try our hands at writing together? And like, put our own spin on stuff? So like, for example, Zayn loves old school RnB, and Harry likes his 70s rock, so, like, if we can combine that? Then people would have an idea about us?"

"Sounds fair," Anne nodded.

"But no to the matching clothes and dance routines, that's just not us at all," Niall added. "Would love to play me guitar onstage though. That'd be sick. Li can play a bit, so can Lou, and Lou can do keys too."

"I can just about not cock up a few chords," Louis rolled his eyes, downplaying his ability.

"I wanna learn guitar," Harry piped up.

"I've been learning bass for a while," Zayn admitted. "Would be sick to play for real though, y'know?"

"We could be the next McFly," Harry beamed. "How amazing would that be?"

"Did you find out anything?" Anne asked, as Robin and Liam came back into the room.

"No, unfortunately," Robin huffed. "Only that this tour is likely designed to put the performers off of going into the industry. Nine performances in six days, Annie! It's disgusting!"

"What do you mean?" Anne looked confused. "How can they do that many?"

"Matinees," Liam provided. "We're doing a fair few matinee performances, and then on again in the evenings."

"That seems a little excessive," Louis commented, looking at the others. "I mean, it just seems like a lot?"

"It is," Liam agreed. "But unfortunately, the child performance laws only cover school age - as in, compulsory schooling. We're all done, so we're not covered by it."

"That's absolutely ridiculous," Anne exclaimed.

"Tell me about it," Robin scowled as he sat. "But when you boys tour for yourselves, I promise it'll be worked out that you get plenty of breaks. I do not want you working yourselves to stress, illness, or death. You'll be sensible with it."

"So... does that mean you'll sign on?" Harry asked with a cheeky smile.

"Go on then," Robin relented. "Seems like you need at least one person in your corner, so why shouldn't it be me?"

The boys cheered and all piled onto Robin excitedly, making Anne laugh and reach for the camera to capture the moment.

~~~~

_ 27th December 2010, Doncaster _

It wasn't until after Louis' birthday and Christmas were out of the way that Louis managed to sit down with his mum for a Serious Talk about what was happening with him and Harry.

"So," Jay started, mug of hot chocolate in her hands as she settled back on the sofa, tucking her feet up under her easily. "I think it's time we had a chat, poppet."

"Uh oh," Louis replied, copying her position at the other end. "This sounds like I've done something wrong... can I blame Lottie?"

"No, you can't," Jay chuckled, kicking lightly at him. "This isn't about anything you've done wrong. It's about... Harry."

"What about him?" Louis asked, keeping his voice level as he gazed at the marshmallows bobbing about in his drink. "Curly-haired lad in the band. Got a ridiculous voice for his age. After ten weeks of living with him, I learned he has a phobia of clothes at home."

"That's all very interesting," Jay nodded slowly. "But not quite what I was aiming for."

"Then you'll have to be a little more specific, Mum," Louis told her. "I mean, I can't say I know his inside leg measurement, or what size collar he takes, but I could guess?"

"Now you're being deliberately obtuse," Jay flicked a blanket at him.

"Sorry!" Louis chuckled. "But I really don't know what you want me to say."

"You're a lot closer to him than the other boys, aren't you?"

"Yeah, and I think that's pretty obvious," he shrugged a shoulder. "We just clicked, y'know?"

"Mmhmm," Jay nodded. "Is there anything more to it? I mean, I've seen the interviews, I've watched the performances, I even watched those video diaries of yours," she added, letting out a snicker at his embarrassed protests. "You two can barely keep your hands, let alone your eyes, off of each other."

Louis let out a heavy sigh, glancing down at the quote marks that had appeared on the inside of his wrist, to pair up with the bold 'I CAN'T CHANGE' that Harry had across the top of his. Those particular soulmarks had been itching to come out for weeks, but finally appeared the morning after Lily Allen had been particularly spiteful about her comments regarding One Direction, their performance, and, in an oblique way so she wouldn't garner any clapback from it, their sexualities.

"I'm not sure what to tell you," he eventually said slowly. "I'd need to talk to Harry first?"

"Then by all means, poppet," Jay replied, gesturing to his phone. "I'm glad you have that kind of respect for him."

"Of course," Louis frowned. "He's important."

He reached over and picked up his phone, quickly tapping out a text message.

_ Hey, Mum's asking about us... should I tell her?? _

Within seconds his phone buzzed in his hand with a reply.

_ I was about to send you the exact same thing!! Mum's not happy about the new mark :( I think we should tell them. Hopefully they'll be understanding?? _

Louis smiled softly.

_ Good luck, babe. I'll talk to you later. xxx _

"Okay," Louis said firmly, putting his phone back on the coffee table. "It's like this."

"Go on," Jay encouraged, settling back again comfortably.

"Harry and I, we're soulmates," Louis stated. "Like, the real deal."

"Soulmates?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like, actual soulmates? Not just the stuff that overly romantic people say before they get their hearts broken and they wind up cynical shells of themselves?"

"No, not just that," Louis snorted quietly. "Actual proper soulmates. With soulmarks." He held his hand out, showing off the inside of his wrist. "These go with the one on Harry's wrist, it says 'I can't change'. It appeared after Lily's comments about us."

"I was so close to ripping that woman's hair off of her head," Jay hissed, still angry about it.

"I know, Mum, but back on topic, please," Louis tried, then pushed his sleeve up. "This is the other soulmark I've got. It was the first word Harry said to me when I met him in the loos at the Conference Centre. He's got my first word to him on his arm."

"And you didn't go to a tattoo parlour for them?" she checked, glancing up at him shaking his head for a moment, before she returned to her inspection of his marks. "So they just appeared?"

"Yeah," Louis confirmed. "They usually itch a bit for a while before they actually appear, so at least we get a bit of warning." He watched Jay for a few beats, before he spoke again. "Uh, there's actually a bit more to it?"

"More?"

"Yeah, uh," Louis scratched at the back of his neck, knowing that this was going to be the harder part. "I have memories."

"Yes, darling, we all do," Jay replied in amusement.

"No, I mean," Louis huffed out a sigh, before he gathered himself. "I mean, I have memories of our past lives, Harry and I."

"You've lived before?"

"Yeah," Louis nodded. "I think it's a bit like... our souls keep trying to get it right? None of them have ended particularly well before."

"How do you mean, they haven't ended well?" Jay's tone dropped and she glared at him a little fiercely.

"I mean, they haven't ended well?" Louis rubbed a hand over his face. "Like, for example, in one of our... incarnations, for want of a better word, they lived in Italy in the very early years. In Pompeii."

"Pompeii?" Jay paled at the name. "You... you and Harry were in Pompeii when Vesuvius erupted?"

"Firstly, I have to say I'm impressed at your general knowledge, Mum, ten out of ten for that one," Louis attempted to joke. "But yeah. Well, no. Lucius and Hadrianus lived in Pompeii. But their souls, they were ours."

"Wow,"  Jay let out a low whistle. "I had no idea that this is what you'd come out with. I just thought you were messing around, and I'd have to give you the safe sex talk again."

"Mum!" Louis protested.

"Don't give me that, I told you we'd talk when you got into a relationship," she reminded him. "You knew it was coming." Jay gazed at him for a moment. "So, have you always known that Harry was your soulmate? Have you always had those memories?"

"No, no," Louis shook his head. "It was the first time I actually looked at him properly, in Manchester. Remember how I fainted?" Jay nodded. "That was because my brain couldn't cope with the onset of memories flooding in." He explained. "Or at least, I'm guessing that's how it works."

"Does Harry share those memories?"

"Not yet," Louis sighed. "He used to? I mean, a few ‘incarnations’ back knew? Henlea definitely did, in the Middle Ages." He sighed again heavily. "That's why it was so hard on him that Liulf had to marry Gunnora."

"Henlea, that's Harry, yes?" Jay checked, trying to follow it along. "And you were Liulf... so Gunnora... Gemma?"

"Mmhmm," Louis nodded, looking miserable. "Henlea was supposed to marry Felice, but he killed himself instead. Couldn't live a lie with Liulf's sister, like Liulf could. Liulf was a bit spineless, I have to say. Just did as he was told, when he was told. Didn't have even a quarter of the passion for life and living and Henlea that Lucius had for Hadrianus."

"Oh, darling," Jay set her mug down and shifted around, pulling Louis into her arms. "I can guarantee that you're not spineless, poppet. You are so strong and fierce and determined." She pressed a kiss to his temple. "And I know that you will never let anyone else tell you to who or who not to marry."

"I'm fairly certain I know exactly who that's gonna be already," Louis gave her a shy smile. "I know it sounds sudden, but... we've got two thousand years of cockups behind us. I want this time to go right."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Jay assured him, squeezing gently.

"So you believe me then?" He checked.

"Of course," Jay gave him a smile. "You have never in your life lied to me about anything serious - how many biscuits you had out of the barrel doesn't count, sweetie - so why would you be starting now? I trust you, Louis. I trust what you say. I trust in what my eyes are telling me, and they're telling me that you have these marks appearing on your arms, and that they match this boy you've met, and that you're both well on your way to being arse over tit in love with each other."

"Mum," Louis blushed and ducked his head.

"Oh c'mon, poppet," she chastised him gently. "It's only me." She took a sip of her hot chocolate. "You just gotta worry about when Lottie finds out - the poor girl's proper smitten with young Harry."

"What?" Louis stared at her.

"You haven't noticed, how she's always going on about him?"

"Well, I mean," Louis started, but visibly thought. "Oh no. Mum. What am I gonna do? She's a baby!"

"Not quite a baby, darling," Jay chuckled. "But she's gonna be a little bit hurt. Don't worry, I'll take her out for cake. She'll get over it quick enough."

"It's a little bit mortifying as well, to be honest," Louis huffed. "Does this mean my sister's got the same taste in men as I have?"

Jay burst into a fit of giggles, nearly spilling her chocolate as she leaned over to put the mug down.

"Oh dear me," she snickered. "Sorry poppet, but that did make me laugh. I think you're reading a little too much into this."

Louis huffed again and put his mug next to his mum's, before he folded his arms over his chest.

"I think you're being a little mean about it," he muttered.

"I'm only teasing," she giggled. "I promise, I'll make sure it's all good."

"You'd better."

~~~~

"So then Mum tells me about how Lotts has got a thing for you," Louis repeated, letting out another groan at the memory of the embarrassment.

"Lottie?" Harry squawked, staring at his laptop in shock. "Little Lottie? Your sister?"

"Yep, that exact one," Louis sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "All Mum kept doing was laughing. I was like, I'm really not seeing the funny side of this, but she just kept right on."

The two were sharing a Skype call, ostensibly to discuss the songs they were going to sing on the X Factor Tour, but in reality all they'd been talking about was everything they'd missed in each other's lives since they last spoke properly, on the night before Louis' birthday.

"So, anything else embarrassing happen?" Harry asked. "Or is that the limit so far?"

"Oh no, it gets worse," Louis continued. "So Mum takes Lottie out for cake to explain about you and me, they're gone for literally an hour, tops, and when they get back, Lottie's slamming doors, yelling at Mum, yelling at me, yelling at Fizz when she asks what's wrong."

"It didn't go over well then," Harry pulled a face.

"Nope, not particularly," Louis sighed. "Got this blonde bundle in front of me screaming that I can't be in a relationship with you cos I'm a boy, and boys don't go with boys."

"Ouch," Harry winced. "I bet your mum was happy about that."

"Definitely not," Louis shook his head. "She immediately sent Lottie to her room, with no phone, laptop or telly. Told her that homophobia was ugly, and she didn't raise ugly children. Lotts just burst into tears, sobbed out an apology, and went to her room."

"That's horrible for her though," Harry said sympathetically. "She's just learning to feel things right now."

"I know, and so does Mum, so she won't be punished too hard."

"It's hard being her age." Harry rolled his eyes a little. "Like I'm so old now."

Louis chuckled softly.

"Our souls are," he offered as an explanation. "Like... at least two millennia?"

"That's a mind-blowing thought, isn't it?"

"Completely."

~~~~

"I've managed to get you a booking," Robin announced, as the five took their seats in Harry's living room.

"A booking?" Zayn raised an eyebrow. "Don't we have the tour to worry about first?"

"Yeah, but this is something I thought you'd appreciate," Robin smiled. "And you can consider it a dress rehearsal for the tour."

"Okay, don't keep us all in suspense, where are we singing?" Liam asked.

"G-A-Y," Robin beamed at them. "End of January. So H can celebrate his birthday at the same time," he added with a wink.

"Holy shit," Niall stared. "Actual G-A-Y? Like, Villiers Street, Heaven, the iconic place?"

"That very same one," Robin nodded with a chuckle. "And they said if it goes well, they'll be more than happy to host you again." He shrugged a shoulder. "Thought you'd like to give back to the people who helped get you as far as you did."

"Definitely, definitely," Louis said quickly. "I mean... I dunno about the rest of you boys, but performing there has always been a dream. Same stage as some of the greats? Wow."

"Kylie, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse," Harry rattled off, still looking stunned. "I'm just... wow. Thank you so so much, Robin. That's amazing."

"Well, you've only got a couple of weeks to get yourselves ready," Robin continued. "So maybe don't thank me yet. You're gonna have to put some real work in."

"We're more than ready for work," Liam said quickly. "I already feel like it's been too long since we were on a stage."

"Agreed," Zayn nodded. "All those weeks of the live shows really spoiled us. Time off has just been weird."

"These are the songs that producer Amy sent over as a suggestion for you to sing on the tour," Robin said, sliding a sheet of paper over the coffee table. "You need to cut it down to five. I strongly suggest you include  _ Forever Young _ , as that was supposed to be your single, and I think it showcases your voices a little more than the others do."

"Agreed," Liam immediately nodded, glancing over the songs. "I think if we do that, with  _ Torn _ ,  _ Grenade _ ,  _ Viva La Vida _ , and  _ My Life Would Suck Without You _ ? What does everyone think?"

"They're the songs I'd go with," Louis shrugged. "Maybe see if we can do like alternates? Swap out  _ Viva _ for  _ Summer of 69 _ every other night?"

"That sounds cool," Niall nodded.

Once the songs were approved by production, rehearsals began in earnest. Robin hired out a rehearsal space in Manchester for them, including the sound equipment that they'd need to get the levels right. He got a personal loan to fund the cost of new sets of in-ear monitors for them - ones that actually fit them properly, instead of the universal ones they'd had on the show.

The boys shared an apartment in Manchester while they were rehearsing, and the first few nights they got back and filled up on pizza or burgers - whatever they'd managed to pick up on the way home. After one too many nights of this, Harry put his foot down and insisted on cooking for them all properly, putting together his signature dish of fajitas with a salad.

"Don't look at it like that," he chastised the others as they pulled varying faces. "Green stuff is good for you - and I don't mean weed, Louis, behave - and we're about to embark on a tough tour. We need to make sure we're healthy and we've got our strength up. So. Healthy food from here on out."

"Do we hafta?" Louis whined quietly.

"Yes, so sit down and eat," Harry said firmly.

"So, when should we start calling you 'mum', Haz?" Niall asked with a smirk, loading up his fork.

"And does that mean we should refer to Lou as 'dad'?" Zayn added with a snicker.

"How about we don't restrict ourselves to gender roles instead?" Harry glared at them, sitting down after he'd filled his own plate. "C'mon, guys. This is the 21st century. Let's not be those people."

"Exactly," Louis waved his fork around at them. "What Haz said."

"Old married couple," Niall muttered.

Harry shot a look at Louis, then back at his plate.

"Even got the no sex down," he muttered.

"Oi, enough of that, lad," Louis glared a little. "We discussed this already."

"No, you told me," Harry huffed. "I didn't have any input whatsoever."

"And I really don't think this is the place to bring it up again," Liam interjected. "How about waiting until you don't have an audience, lads?"

"Yeah, sorry," both Harry and Louis apologised.

~~~~

"So, what you brought up earlier," Louis said when they were alone in their room.

"The gender roles?" Harry asked.

"No, the no sex thing."

"Oh, that."

"Yeah," Louis nodded slowly. "I think we need to have a proper discussion about it."

"Do I actually get any say in it this time?"

"That's why I'm suggesting we talk," Louis said patiently.

Harry pulled his sleep tee and shorts on, and crossed to sit on the bed looking at Louis quietly, then gestured for him to continue.

"Haz," Louis sighed softly. "I really think we should wait. I love you, you know that. And I know you love me. But I think that this, our relationship, our friendship, us as a couple... I think it's too important to rush into everything. I know, I know that you don't think that we're rushing, that you think we're moving at a snail's pace. But I think it'll be worth it. The wait, I mean."

"Can I say something?" Harry asked slowly, looking at Louis a little uncertainly, and taking a breath at Louis' nod. "I get why you want to wait. I completely understand that. But I'd like for you to take a look at it from my perspective for just a moment? Because from here, it just feels like you don't actually want me... that way. And I'm sorry if that makes me sound like an overly emotional teenager or whatever, but I can't help the way my heart hurts every time you push me away and tell me no."

"Oh... Harry," Louis crossed to him quickly, slipping his arms around Harry and hugging him tight. "Darling, no. That... that is never ever the case, I swear to you."

"That's what it  _ feels _ like."

"Then I'm sorry, because that's on me," Louis nuzzled gently. "I should've made it more clear."

"It's okay, I think I'm understanding a little more," Harry sighed softly, leaning heavily against Louis. "I just... I know you don't mean to, but there are times when it really feels like you see me as nothing more than a kid. And I'm not, Lou. I'm more than that. I deserve more than that."

Louis ran his hand gently over Harry's hair, tucking a curl behind his ear.

"You definitely do," he agreed softly. "I'm sorry, darling." He pressed a kiss to Harry's cheek. "I want us to wait until you're seventeen, at the very least. I feel a bit awkward, being nineteen to your sixteen - it feels like such a huge gap."

"We have millennia behind us, but three years is too much?" Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Considering the way today's morals and ethics and just general accepted behaviour has progressed since the beginning of us, I just... I feel like it's the right way to be," Louis sighed. "Plus, my mum would totally kick my ass, and you know full well that she'd know."

"Mums are creepy like that," Harry agreed. "And okay. I understand. When I'm seventeen, yeah?"

"Not on your birthday though, you know your mum's gonna throw you a party," Louis chuckled. "It should be when it feels right, love. I don't want to plan it, and end up with all this pressure and all these expectations on it." He kissed Harry softly. "But it'll happen. I promise."

"As long as you're not gonna leave me hanging on forever," Harry smiled softly. "I'm happy to wait if it's inevitable."

"Oh it's definitely inevitable," Louis nodded with a grin, carefully pressing Harry back onto the bed. "I can promise you that." He gently stroked a hand down over Harry's tee, lightly squeezing his hip. "I can remember everything from centuries ago. It's always been worth it. It's always been good." He pressed a kiss to Harry's jaw. "It's always been mind blowing. And I can't wait to experience that with you."

"You are definitely a tease," Harry muttered, squirming a little underneath Louis. "Tommo the fucking tease."

"Mmhmm, and you're the only one I'm ever gonna tease, darling," Louis murmured, slipping his hands underneath Harry's tee, gently stroking his bare skin.

Harry sighed softly, succumbing to whatever Louis was willing to do to him, which apparently involved actual intended orgasms for the very first time. As he lay there, trembling from the aftershocks while Louis went to brush his teeth, Harry felt a burning on his wrist, and heard Louis hiss sharply from the bathroom.

"Lou?" he called, looking at his hand worriedly.

"Well, that came through quickly," Louis commented, strolling back from the bathroom. "Let's see what you've got, love."

Louis held his right hand up, revealing a swirl of rope around his wrist. Harry held out his left hand, showing off a stark anchor that covered the previous mark.

"That's gorgeous, H," Louis smiled, leaning down to press a kiss to the still-hot skin. "Means you keep me anchored, grounded, safe."

"Always, Lou," Harry rasped out softly. "I promise." He frowned slightly. "But I wonder why it covered the other one. It had just grown on me."

"Dunno," Louis shrugged. "Sometimes Fate, or Destiny, or whoever it is giving us these marks - sometimes they change their minds about what they should be, I guess. It's happened before. Had your name changed into a cherry blossom tree once. Back in Pompeii."

"We don't talk about Pompeii, Lou," Harry reminded him. "That makes me sad just to think of it."

"It wasn't particularly nice to live it," Louis pointed out. "But I promise, I won't bring it up again."

They snuggled down together under the duvet.

"So, obviously when we do something different, that brings us closer, that's when we get new marks," Harry mumbled.

"Mmhmm."

"How big do you think the marks are going to be when we actually do it properly?"

"I had a lighthouse that covered the whole of one side of my ribcage once."

Harry ran his fingers lightly over Louis' ribs.

"That sounds amazing," he murmured. "I wonder why we keep getting nautical stuff though?" Louis made a confused sound. "Well, you said you had a lighthouse. Now we've got a rope and anchor. What did I have to match the lighthouse?"

"A massive ship on your back," Louis said slowly. "Yeah, I see where you're coming from." He thought for a moment. "They've all been water related, thinking about it. Even back in Egypt. Had hieroglyphs of water and boats. Huh. I don't think we've ever noticed that before."

"Whatever would you do without me, Lou?" Harry asked quietly, tugging the duvet up over him more and sighing softly.

"Think it's been proven time and again that I'm lost without you, my love," Louis murmured. pressing a kiss to Harry's forehead.

"Hmm, we'll get it right this time," Harry promised, already drifting into sleep. "You and me against the world. With the best friends we could ever hope for. It's gonna be amazing."

~~~~

The performance at G-A-Y went better than they ever could've hoped. The community came out in their masses, with many turned away at the door because the club was already filled to capacity. Jonathan, who ran the club, had surprised Harry with a large cake for his birthday, and the whole place sang to him as the clock clicked over to midnight, and confetti cannons full of glitter exploded all over the place.

It was just what they all needed as a group before they started on the X Factor tour a week later. The schedule was a nightmare though, and they all found themselves practically dead on their feet as they were ferried from venue to venue, often with barely a day off in between shows.

When Robin and Anne came to see them in Manchester, barely three weeks into the tour, they were both shocked to see the state of the boys.

"Are you all okay?" Anne asked worriedly, resting a hand on Harry's cheek. "You look like you've barely slept!"

"That's cos we haven't, Anne," Zayn told her, finishing on a yawn. "Sorry."

"It's okay, sweetheart," Anne quickly reassured him. "What the hell's been going on?"

"Just touring," Liam shrugged.

"Well, not just touring," Louis sighed, leaning back against the wall. "They asked us to meet some kids before each show? Like a meet and greet thing? It's all part of a charity thing, like Make A Wish. I think it's called Rays of Sunshine or something?"

"I've heard of them," Anne nodded. "They do some amazing work. But... every show?"

"Matinees included," Harry mumbled, cuddling closer to his mum. "We do the meet and greet for like, an hour. Then warm up. Then perform. Then either have some food, or get a nap in. Then another meet and greet. Then warm up again. Then perform again. Then either hotel or bus to the next venue." He huffed out a low grumble. "If I hadn't been here a thousand times before, I would literally have no idea where I am right now."

"I wasn't a fan of this before you started," Robin muttered. "But this is absolutely ridiculous. Are all of you the same?"

"The others aren't too bad," Niall yawned into his hand. "But Matt's the only one who performs the same number of songs as us. And his are mostly ballads, so they're not so full on."

"So you're the only ones being worked this hard?" Robin asked in disbelief. "I'm really not happy. I'm going to speak to your lawyers boys. This is unreasonable."

"We'll be okay, Robin," Louis said quickly. "We've only got twenty six shows left, including the two today. We'll be fine. We can do it."

"Twenty six shows? In how many days?" Anne asked suspiciously.

"Four weeks?" Louis offered hesitantly. "We've got three days off between Brighton and The O2, two days between Aberdeen and Glasgow, and then another two days between Glasgow and Cardiff. We can handle it."

"We're definitely going to spend those days sleeping," Zayn said quickly. "I don't think we'll be good for anything but."

"There's really not much we can do about it," Louis reasoned. "The tickets have already been sold, so it's just a case of holding on for the ride. We'll recover when we get to the end."

"I can definitely promise you that you'll never have such a ridiculous workload in the future," Robin assured them. "I'll make sure that any scheduling is done with your physical and mental health in mind."

"Definitely appreciated," Anne told him. "And I'm saying that on behalf of all the mums," she added, looking around at the boys.

"Appreciated by us too," Harry piped up. "Would be nice to experience the tour without the help of Red Bull, or through the haze of sleep deprivation."

"Truest thing I've heard all day," Liam sighed heavily. "Thanks, Robin."

"We'd best go get ready for the first meet and greet," Niall commented, looking at the clock. "We're needed at the arena in two hours."

"Let the fun begin," Louis gave Anne and Robin a tired smile. "We'll see you later. C'mon, Curly."

~~~~

_ 9th April 2011, Cardiff, Wales _

Four weeks later, and the final show of the tour was upon them. Cardiff had been host to the tour for a total of five days, and after a matinee performance in the afternoon, the actual last show kicked off at 7pm. There was a different energy in the arena than there had been all tour - it seemed to be a little like the first, but with less certainty. Whereas the first had been all about the potential narrowed down to the weeks to come, this one felt like it was blown wide with infinite possibilities for the future.

The one constant complaint the other acts on the tour had had about life on the road, had been the uncontrollable hyperactivity that One Direction had brought backstage before each show.Their coping mechanism for the lack of sleep and excitement for the shows was to act out as much as possible. They were never where they were supposed to be, and were usually found somewhere pranking someone in the most inconvenient manner. Matt had his wardrobe completely swapped with Wagner's, Cher's shoes had been hidden in boxes of polystyrene nuggets, and Rebecca's suitcase had been filled with glitter - which she hadn't minded too much, but the boys couldn't bear to do anything too horrible to her, because they thought she was too nice.

For this last performance, however... things were definitely different.

One Direction were sequestered in their own dressing room, the door locked, and sitting together quietly. They spoke of their plans for the future before they slowly and hesitantly started to share their dreams - what they hoped, if things went well, could potentially happen to them.

"I'd love to perform at the BRITs," Louis admitted. "Can you imagine that? That would be amazing."

"How about winning one?" Harry asked. "That'd be sick."

"Oh god, like that would ever happen," Zayn snorted.

"How about performing at The O2?" Liam suggested. "As us, as One Direction, not as part of an ensemble lineup."

"Croke Park," Niall nodded slowly. "That's definitely my dream. Third largest stadium in Europe."

"Madison Square Garden," Zayn sighed wistfully. "I know it's not over here... but shit. It's iconic, y'know?"

"Wembley Stadium," Harry stated firmly. "That's my ultimate."

The other four boys looked at him for a moment, then all burst out laughing.

"Oh wow, yeah, that's definitely the most unattainable," Louis giggled. "Like we'd ever sell like, eighty thousand tickets to one single show! Us?"

"We were talking about our dreams!" Harry protested weakly. "That's my dream. I'd love to see us there. I know it's highly unlikely. But... if we perform there, then I know that we're successful beyond anything I could ever have imagined."

Zayn grinned at the look on Harry's face.

"I think we can get on board with that, Haz," he assured him. "Because I have to agree."

"Imagine it full of rainbows," Louis nudged at Harry's side gently. "As far as the eye can see, just... rainbows."

"You really think that'd happen?" Harry asked slowly. "Cos that'd be so beautiful. I think I would actually cry."

Louis pulled him closer, pressing a kiss to his temple.

"Like you said, love, it's a dream," he murmured. "And I'd probably cry with you."

A knock at the door interrupted them before the conversation could go any further.

"Onstage in ten, boys," Amy called through the door. "I hope you're all ready!"

Niall got up and opened the door.

"Hey Ames," he greeted her. "I think we're ready. Liam ran us through our warm ups."

"We're going for the casual look onstage tonight," Zayn added, gesturing to their outfits because they were wearing their own jeans and tees instead of the somewhat preppier looks the stylists had been picking out for them.

"You all look good," Amy smiled. "Have a killer last show. I'll see you afterwards."

"Can our parents come to the after party?" Liam sat up quickly. "Cos I may have already told mine they could, but I forgot to check."

"Of course," Amy chuckled. "I'll make sure they know where it is."

The show passed in a blur of lights and screams and excitement before they gave the final wave, blew the final kiss, bowed their final bow, and followed the other acts offstage, the adrenaline still humming just beneath the surface of their skin.

"Showers, change, then into the buses waiting outside please, everyone!" Amy yelled into a megaphone. "They will be taking you to the after party at a club nearby. Please be aware that the staff know that you are not all of age, and that they will be checking IDs. So if you are fortunate enough to look under eighteen - Tomlinson, Malik, I'm looking at you - then please make sure you have some form of identification should you wish to be served. And if you're found to be buying for those who are underage - I'm looking at all of you because I know you'd all fall foul to the pouts of Styles and Horan in particular - then you will be asked to leave!"

"That sounds like a horribly long list of rules, Amy," Louis told her seriously. "Are you sure we have to obey all of them?"

"Yes," she said flatly. "Please, for once, just do as you're told."

Louis gave her a huge grin, then pressed a kiss to her cheek before he bounced off down the corridor after the rest of the boys to duck into their dressing room.

"Forever a pain in my ass, that one," she muttered as she collected her things to pack up.

"Okay lads!" Louis called, shutting the door behind him. "We need a plan of action so that Nialler, Leemo, and Haz can still have a drink or two."

"I'm fuckin Irish, and they wanna keep me away from alcohol, it's a fuckin disgrace," Niall said grumpily. "I can probably drink every damn one of yous under the table, and then some."

"We're working on it, Irish," Louis assured him. "I reckon your Mum and Dad will be on board." He paused. "Well, your Dad anyway."

"Aye, Bobby's a top bloke," Niall nodded enthusiastically. "He'll buy us drinks for sure."

"I can't drink," Liam said patiently. "One kidney, remember?"

"You can have one, Leemo," Louis wheedled. "C'mon, it's a celebration. The end of the X Factor. The beginning of One Direction."

"Fine, one, but that's all," Liam relented easily. "But only one. We don't want Karen Payne to be even more of a mess than she already will be."

"I'll make sure you're looked after, babe," Zayn assured him, slipping an arm around Liam's waist and squeezing gently.

"There's a surprise," Louis snorted softly to Harry. "Now then, what about you, young Hazza?"

"I think I'll do the same as Liam," Harry said quietly. "Just the one."

"Are you sure?" Louis asked, looking surprised.

"Yeah," Harry nodded, sliding a hand into Louis' and squeezing gently, before murmuring. "Was kinda hoping that we could go to our room a little earlier?"

Louis blinked slowly, the meaning behind Harry's words dawning on him and stunning him into silence.

"Uh, y-yeah, um, o-okay," Louis stammered. "We, uh, we could do that. Sure. Definitely." He nodded quickly. "Sounds, yep, sounds like a plan. Love that idea."

"We get it, you two are gonna slope off for sex," Niall rolled his eyes. "We'll make sure no one comes to look for you. Just make sure we get the heads up on your way out."

"The last thing you want is one of your mums knocking on your door when you're balls deep," Zayn snickered.

"Oi!" Louis snapped with a frown. "A little respect please."

"Sorry, sorry," Zayn apologised quickly, holding his hands up defensively.

Louis returned his attention to Harry, giving him a soft smile before he pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead.

"Sounds perfect," he added quietly. "Let's do that."

~~~~

An hour later, and the party was in full swing in the function room of one of the big hotels. Drinks were flowing, both alcoholic and soft, and the music was loud, as the guests danced and the X Factor acts relaxed properly for the first time in seven weeks.

One Direction and their families were all clustered around three of the small tables that were scattered around the room, only really large enough for a selection of glasses.

"I'm so proud of all of you!" Jay exclaimed, looking around at the five boys. "You've done a fantastic job."

"Thanks Mum," Louis called over the thumping club music. "But I don't think this is the best place for a discussion!"

"Your mum's right though," Trisha spoke up, hugging Zayn closer. "You've all been amazing. I think you've got an amazing future ahead of you, and I can't wait to see what you do next."

"Aww, Mum," Zayn pulled her into a proper hug and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I think I saw some sofas in the lobby outside," Karen offered, wiping at her cheeks. "Should we go sit there and chat? I'm not too sure about this music."

"It's a little bit heavy going for just a bit of a party," Robin commented, before he picked up his and Anne's glass. "Lead the way, Karen!"

"We'll stay here!" Harry called after them.

The parents nodded and waved their kids off, as they made their way out to the lobby for a more comfortable discussion.

"Okay, how are we supposed to get past them now?" Louis murmured against Harry's ear. "They're gonna be right outside. And it's gonna look suspicious as hell if we go out on our own."

"I dunno," Harry sighed. "Is there another way out?" He craned his neck around, trying to see the other walls. "How about over there? The door's propped open."

"You are a little genius," Louis grinned and kissed Harry softly. "C'mon then." He looked around at the other three. "Lads, we're heading out too."

"Have fun, be safe, we'll make sure the parents don't come looking for you," Liam grinned. "How are you getting out?"

"Another door, mate," Louis pointed behind them. "We'll see you tomorrow."

After a quick round of hugs, Harry slipped his hand into Louis' and led him across the room. They left the loud function room and followed the signs to the elevators. Louis slid their keycard into the slot to unlock the access to their floor, then looked at Harry with a soft smile.

"You ready for this, love?" he asked quietly.

"Born ready," Harry told him firmly, crowding into Louis' space and pressing a kiss to his jaw. "I've been ready for this for millennia."

"You are the most ridiculous person I've ever had the fortune to meet," Louis told him in amusement.

"Yeah, yeah," Harry rolled his eyes. "You love it. You love me. You love us."

"Now you're sounding like the Manics," Louis snickered, then squirmed as Harry tickled his side. "Ooh, we're here."

They giggled together as they half tripped out of the lift and along the corridor towards their room. Harry pressed himself against Louis' back as he fumbled with the lock and the keycard, trying to get the door open.

"Haz, back up a bit," Louis snickered quietly. "I can't get the damn card in."

"I so hope that's not going to be a problem later," Harry teased, gently squeezing Louis' hips, but stepping back and giving him some room. "I'd hate to be that disappointed."

Louis shoved the door open and turned to face Harry with a smirk.

"Oh, you can completely guarantee that there will definitely not be any disappointment whatsoever," he murmured. "Just get in here, Styles."

He grabbed Harry's hands and tugged him inside, the door slamming shut behind them.

~~~~

"Shit!" Harry sat up with a gasp.

"Mm, Haz?" Louis stirred slowly, reaching out and running a hand over Harry's bare back. "You okay, love?"

"I..." Harry's voice trailed off as he looked around at Louis. "Fuck, Lou. I remember. I remember everything." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "And my arm hurts." He glanced down at the top of his left arm. "Holy shit."

"Wait, you remember?" Louis pushed himself upright. "You remember our pasts?" He hissed softly. "And my arm hurts too."

"I remember it all, Lou," Harry murmured, pressing a kiss to Louis' cheek. "Everything from Egypt to the 60s. Each and every life and relationship and heartbreak. I remember it all." He rested his forehead against Louis'. "I am so unbelievably in love with you. Each and every single version of you."

"I'm in love with you too, Haz," Louis smiled, slipping his arms around Harry's waist and pulling him a little closer. "And thank you, for everything. For like, trusting in me? Believing the whole previous lives thing before you could remember it. Being with me." He lightly stroked Harry's skin, smiling as he felt the goosebumps spreading. "It means more than you could ever imagine."

"Hey," Harry murmured. "I feel exactly the same way about you. You're my whole world. And things are going to be even more amazing from here on in. I just know it." He nuzzled his nose gently into Louis'. "Look at your new mark, darling. The nautical theme continues."

Louis pulled back slightly and dropped his gaze down at his right forearm.

"A compass?" He raised an eyebrow. "Pointing to home." He looked up at Harry with a smile. "Guess that means you, love." He kissed Harry's cheek. "What did you -- oh... wow." Louis stopped mid-question as he caught sight of the very thing he was asking about - a large and intricate ship in full sail stretched out over the top of Harry's left bicep. "That is gorgeous, Haz." He leaned in and carefully brushed a soft kiss to the dark ink. "I think this is my favourite so far."

Harry smiled softly.

"I think you're just enjoying the fact that I'm getting ink all over," he chuckled.

"Before I met you, I didn't like tattoos at all," Louis chuckled. "Not on me, not on anyone. I thought they looked kinda naff."

"That's an amusing thought," Harry giggled. "And now?"

"They're definitely sexy as fuck on you," Louis smirked. "And I think they're kinda sick on me."

"Excellent answers," Harry nodded solemnly. "I highly approve." He grinned brightly. "So. The rest of forever's ahead of us. You think things are gonna get better than the past?"

"Oh definitely," Louis assured him quickly. "This is going to be our best life. I just know it."

~~~~

_ August 2011: One Direction - debut single What Makes You Beautiful straight to No 1! _

_ October 2011: Simon Cowell: I'm Gay. _

_ November 2011: X Factor cancelled mid-series due to production issues _

_ December 2011: Inside Scoop - we talk to Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson of One Direction about love, lies, and  _ **_that_ ** _ meltdown at X Factor boot camp _

_ January 2012: One Direction - debut album Up All Night spends its fourth week at No 1 _

_ March 2012: The Sun Exclusive:  One Direction hate each other!! _

_ April 2012: Tickets sell out in record time for One Direction's first tour! _

_ May 2012: The Guardian Exclusive: One Direction on love, music, and ignoring those trolls... _

_ June 2012: Dan Wooton - celeb journalist facing extradition back to New Zealand for fraud, embezzlement, and identity fraud _

_ July 2012: One Direction WOW at London Olympics Closing Ceremony! _

_ August 2012: Celebrity journalist jailed with list of offences, including tax evasion, fraud, and identity theft _

_ September 2012: One Direction's Zayn and Liam: The truth behind those rumours _

_ October 2012: We talk to One Direction's Niall Horan about being the only single guy in the band _

_ November 2012: One Direction's debut theatre tour kicks off with a bang! _

_ December 2012: One Direction drop surprise Christmas single for charity! _

_ January 2013: Simon Cowell: I'm Straight _

_ February 2013: The Real Dan Wooton - how my life was ruined by Adam Marks _

_ April 2013: One Direction visit Ghana for Comic Relief. SEE VIDEO HERE _

_ June 2013: One Direction release Arena Tour Dates for 2014! _

_ July 2013: Love Wins - Same sex marriage legalised in the UK! _

_ August 2013: Ladies and gents, dust off your wedding finery - Liam Payne and Zayn Malik are getting hitched! _

_ October 2013: Wedding bells! Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson ENGAGED! _

_ November 2013: Daily Star: WATCH: Louis Tomlinson playing piano in hotel lobby and accepting tips - strapped for cash? _

_ January 2014: Hello Exclusive: See photographs from the extravagant wedding of One Direction bandmates Zayn Malik and Liam Payne right here _

_ February 2014: Record label Sony facing questions of mental abuse _

_ March 2014: Record label Sony executives facing accusations of sexual assault _

_ April 2014: Boyband One Direction kick off their headline arena tour at The O2 Arena in London _

_ May 2014: Hey Baby! Are One Direction's Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson baby daddies? _

_ July 2014: Take Me Home: BRAND NEW ALBUM by One Direction dropped! _

_ August 2014: One Direction to tour the US? _

_ September 2014: US tickets for One Direction sell out in record ten minutes! _

_ October 2014: Heading in different directions? Moody Harry Styles and Niall Horan seen out on the town, without the rest of their bandmates _

_ November 2014: One Direction appear on BBC's Children In Need _

_ December 2014: Band Aid 30 Do They Know It's Christmas goes straight to No 1! _

_ January 2015: Olly Murs - "Niall Horan broke my heart... but we're still good friends." _

_ March 2015: Niall Horan tweets - "Olly Murs is a drama queen." _

_ April 2015: "We're taking our time" - end of the road for One Direction following album delays? _

_ May 2015: One Direction kick off US tour in Columbus, Ohio _

_ June 2015: The Sun Exclusive: Eleanor: My X-rated night with boybander Louis - "he's not as gay as he claims he is!" _

_ July 2015: "We're getting fed up with defending everything, to be honest." Exclusive interview with Louis Tomlinson _

_ August 2015: One Direction finish up US Tour with three sell-out nights at Madison Square Garden _

_ November 2015: Simon Cowell: I'm Gay (again) _

_ January 2016: The Guardian Exclusive: One Direction - Setting the record straight... or should that be gay? _

_ March 2016: Hello Picture Exclusive: Meet Charity Malik-Payne - Liam and Zayn Malik-Payne's first daughter! _

_ April 2016: End of the road? Rumours that One Direction to split - become family men instead _

_ June 2016: Niall Horan seen out in LA with Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes - do we sense a bromance brewing? _

_ July 2016: Midnight Memories - we break down the latest One Direction #1 album _

_ September 2016: One Direction - we love our job, we love our fans, but can we please get a little privacy? _

_ October 2016: Splitsville for Harry and Louis? Styles seen with movers outside shared home _

_ November 2016: Hello Picture Exclusive: Meet the Tomlinson-Styles! Harry and Louis finally get hitched - see all the beautiful pictures from the star-studded event inside! _

_ January 2017: Shawn Mendes and Niall Horan are roomies - buying a house together? _

_ March 2017: Shawn Mendes clears up those rumours by posting intimate pic with boyfriend Niall Horan _

_ April 2017: Harry Tomlinson-Styles spotted with baby carrier - have he and husband Louis expanded their family? _

_ August 2017: Hello Picture Exclusive: Meet Lucia and Adriana Tomlinson-Styles! _

_ October 2017: One Direction announce worldwide stadium tour: Where We Are - tickets go on sale Friday! _

_ December 2017: One Direction grab the Christmas #1 spot with charity single _

_ March 2018: One Direction kick off stadium tour in Sydney, Australia - see the photos here! _

_ April 2018: One Direction land in South America for the next leg of their sold-out Where We Are Tour _

_ July 2018: One Direction finish up worldwide stadium tour with FOUR nights at Wembley Stadium! _

~~~~

_ 11th July 2018, Wembley Stadium, London _

"You know, I thought they were actually taking the piss when they said we had sold out Wembley," Niall commented, as he leaned back against the car that had fetched him.

Liam, Zayn, Harry, and Louis all turned to look at him with amused expressions.

"I'm serious," Niall huffed, pushing up off of the car to go and stand next to them. "But look. That's us. That's our name, that's our faces. And we're here for four fucking nights, boys."

"Language, Niall," Louis chastised gently, covering Lucia's ears with a hand.

"They're barely a year old, they aren't talking yet," Niall waved him off.

"Don't worry about it, Louis went into a full on rant right before we left cos he tripped over the cat," Harry grinned as he looked up from checking on Adriana. "I think he wound up putting about twenty quid in the swear jar."

"Stupid thing getting under my feet," Louis muttered, swaying a sleepy Lucia.

"Our morning wasn't anywhere near as interesting," Liam chuckled. "Charity had a play date with Megan from next door, then we got in the car to come here."

"You managed a play date this morning?" Louis stared. "How?"

"Charity and Megan played from half nine to eleven, the car picked us up at half eleven," Zayn said slowly. "Plenty of time?"

"Witchcraft," Harry decided with a firm nod.

"You two are the ones with your mystical matching soulmarks," Liam pointed out. "Just cos you can't organise shit in the mornings, don't blame us."

"Anyway, children and soulmates aside," Niall interrupted. "Wembley Stadium, lads."

"Looks mighty impressive," Louis nodded. "Definitely one to tell the grandkids."

"Hey, do you remember back when we were about to do the last night of the X Factor Tour, we were all in our dressing room," Zayn started. "And we came up with our dream list of stuff we wanted to achieve?" He smiled at the nods.

"Yeah, remember how much grief you all gave me for putting this at the top of that list?" Harry huffed. "Now look at us. Four whole nights. And you all said it couldn't be done."

"Well, it wasn't very likely back then, was it?" Liam shrugged. "We'd just come third in a singing contest, and our main fan base was the LGBT+ community."

"They still are, Leemo," Louis pointed out. "We've just picked up waifs and strays along the way."

"One Direction, where everyone is welcome," Harry chuckled.

The previous seven years had been a blur - from weddings to children to albums to tours, the five boys, now men, had stayed strong together throughout. There had of course been elements of discontent that had tried their best to tear the group apart, but their connection, their strength as a family and their loyalty to each other prevailed.

Simon - and more specifically, Syco Entertainment - had tried repeatedly to use their influence on the British press to smear One Direction's name, both as a group and individuals, but the British public had taken the young boys into their hearts, and determinedly supported them through it all. It had taken a while, and a lot of hard work, but the albums had come slowly and steadily, and the tours followed. The world of social media was starting to explode, and with it, the rise of One Direction happened.

All the young kids around the world, who had felt for so long that they had no voice, no one to relate to, no one who understood them and what their lives were like, they suddenly had these five people who had happily bounced into the public eye, and openly and shamelessly declared that who they were was who they were, and they weren't going to change for anyone. The fact that they were all gay and they hadn't been disowned or cast out by their families was like the first true breath of oxygen for thousands around the world, who finally felt that maybe things wouldn't be too bad.

There were, of course, a number of bigots and homophobes and extremist church groups who picketed and protested and campaigned against each and every note and word that came from the One Direction camp, but as the years progressed and as the world grew, that number slowly and steadily shrank.

There were various dates that would forever stick with the boys - their first single going to number one, their first album going to number one, their first gig at the Hammersmith Apollo, their first gig at the O2 Arena, the time they performed at the Troubadour in Los Angeles, when they headlined at Coachella, performing on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury, Madison Square Garden... they all knew that the list could go on.

And now they were here. Wembley Stadium. For four whole nights. With their fourth album, also called FOUR about to drop. To say that they were all overwhelmed was an understatement. When Robin had stated that the venue was to be added to the tour, first for one single night, Niall swore up a storm in an odd mixture of English, Irish, and Spanish, Zayn had punched a wall, Liam had stared blankly into space, while Harry and Louis had curled together in silence. As the next three nights were added one by one, each of them selling out in a matter of minutes, all five had decided to give up on reacting, because it took too much time to recover.

"I'm not sure it's going to feel entirely real until we get onstage," Niall declared. "When everyone's in, I mean." He glanced around. "I guess we should get inside for sound check?"

The five men, with the three children, made their way over to the entrance and inside, where one of the stadium staff greeted them.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," the host said enthusiastically. "Welcome to Wembley Stadium. My name is Ben, and I will be available for whatever you need today, and for the remainder of your stay here. I will make sure that my number is given to you, and you can call on me at any time." He cleared his throat as he took a breath. "If you'd like to follow me, I'll take you through the stadium to your dressing rooms, which have been freshly decorated for your stay here."

"How freshly decorated?" Liam immediately asked. "We've got three small children here - we can't have the smell of paint in the air, it can damage their health."

"Not a worry at all, Mr Payne," Ben said.

"Malik-Payne," Liam corrected.

"Sorry, sir, Mr Malik-Payne," Ben simpered. "We were aware that your children would be joining you, so we made sure to use chemical and scent-free paint, in order to keep them safe."

"If I catch even a whiff, we'll be using different rooms," Louis told him.

"Of course, Mr Tomlinson, of course."

"Tomlinson-Styles," Harry sighed, exchanging a look with his bandmates. "If you're gonna be an ass-licker, at least get our names right."

"Harry!" Niall gasped. "I'm shocked, appalled, and most definitely impressed!"

Harry smirked proudly.

"He's finally picked up on the snark," Louis nodded. "It's only taken eight years, huh, babe?"

"Eight years, two millennia, who's counting?" Harry shrugged.

The lads continued to chatter among themselves as Ben led them through the winding corridors to their dressing rooms, whereupon they stopped dead and stared.

"Uh, this... this was not on our rider," Zayn said, his voice low.

Instead of the soft, muted, and calm tones they'd requested - and sent along silks to hang on the walls - that would be soothing for the children while they were there, the main room had been painted in bold, solid red and black, with white trim and furniture.

"This is definitely not what we asked for," Louis added, handing Lucia over to Niall and stepping forward. "Can I please ask who the hell authorised this? And why the fuck do you look so damn familiar?"

“Uh, I, uh, I worked on X Factor, briefly, when you were at boot camp, and I've been emailing your liaison," Ben scrambled to say, pulling his phone out of his pocket quickly. "A Paul Higgins?"

"What the hell?" Harry muttered. "Paul wouldn't get this wrong."

"You're right," a deep Irish voice boomed behind him. "Paul wouldn't. I explicitly said pastel shades only. And to use the silks that arrived here yesterday afternoon - I sent them by bike messenger myself, so I know full well they arrived." Paul strode into the room. "What the hell is going on here?" He glanced at the boys. "Alright lads. I'll get this sorted. You take the kids out to the stage. It's a pretty impressive view. For London, anyway."

They all exchanged looks and very quickly scarpered - they knew that Paul would most definitely be able to handle the situation, and all of them were itching to get out onstage, to see for themselves the spectacle that is Wembley Stadium.

Following the signs that had helpfully already been tacked up on the walls, the five men chattered among themselves as they navigated the halls, until they stepped through a door between the tiered seats that led to backstage properly. The weight of what they were about to do was immediately felt, and they went silent, looking at each other instead as they made their way slowly over to the steps.

"Wait a sec!"

A voice had them turning in confusion, before they all smiled as Lottie came running over, Fizzy, Gemma, and Shawn close behind.

"We'll take the kids," Gemma said quickly. "You deserve to experience this part just the five of you. Take the girls up later."

Harry quickly pressed a kiss to Gemma's cheek, before he handed Adriana over, while Fizzy took Charity from Zayn, and Lottie cooed at Lucia. Shawn stood off to one side, his hands in his pockets as he smiled and nodded reassuringly at the boys.

"Let's do this, boys," Niall murmured.

They slowly climbed the stairs to the stage, unconsciously all linking hands as they made their way out to the centre. The stadium spread out in front of them - the grass below them protected by the heavy duty plastic sheets, the stands and tiers of seating stretching up the sides, and finally the iconic arch of the Wembley roof soaring above them.

"Holy shit," Louis breathed.

"And so say all of us," Zayn added, staring around in awe.

"Can you believe we're actually here?" Liam asked. "Cos I'm fairly certain I'm dreaming, and I'm still sixteen, waiting to find out if I'm going to be accepted for an audition."

"We're definitely here," Harry said with a smile. "And we've worked damn hard to get here." He looked at his bandmates, his brothers, his husband. "I'm so proud of us. And everything we've fought through, and for, and to achieve. I can't imagine being here with anyone else but all of you."

"Hey Curly," Louis murmured. "I think we finally got it right."

**Author's Note:**

> [[Rebloggable tumblr post](https://reminiscingintherain.tumblr.com/post/186660763215)]


End file.
